Mount Rixford
North aspect reflected in Rae Lakes
Highest point
Elevation	12,887 ft (3,928 m)[1]
Prominence	584 ft (178 m)[1]
Parent peak	Mount Gould (13,011 ft)[2]
Isolation	1.20 mi (1.93 km),[2]
Listing	Sierra Peaks Section
Coordinates	36°47′05″N 118°23′56″W / 36.7848556°N 118.3988868°W / 36.7848556; -118.3988868[3]
Naming
Etymology	Dr. Emmet Rixford
Geography
Mount Rixford Location in California Show map of California Mount Rixford Mount Rixford (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Kings Canyon National Park Fresno County California, U.S.
Parent range	Sierra Nevada
Topo map	USGS Mount Clarence King
Geology
Mountain type	Fault block
Type of rock	Metamorphic rock[4]
Climbing
First ascent	1897
Easiest route	class 2[2] South slope

Mount Rixford is a 12,887-foot-elevation (3,928-meter) mountain summit located one mile west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in the southeast corner of Fresno County, in northern California.^[3] It is situated in Kings Canyon National Park, 11.5 miles (18.5 km) west of the community of Independence, and one mile north of the Kearsarge Pinnacles and Kearsarge Lakes. Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 2,346 feet (715 meters) above Rae Lakes in one mile. The John Muir Trail crosses Glen Pass one mile to the west of this mountain. Mt. Rixford ranks as the 183rd highest summit in California.^[2] Painted Lady is a subsidiary summit at the end of Rixford's north ridge.

History

This geographical feature was named for world-famous San Francisco surgeon Dr. Emmet Rixford (1865–1938), who made the first ascent of the summit in 1897 with two companions.^[5][6] As a Sierra Club explorer, he enjoyed mountaineering with companions such as the naturalist John Muir.^[7] Dr. Rixford was the president of the American Surgical Association in 1927. The mountain was named in 1899 by an ascent party from Stanford University who found Rixford's name in the summit cairn. That subsequent party was David Starr Jordan, Vernon Lyman Kellogg, Ellwood Patterson Cubberley and Mrs. Cubberley.^[8] Theirs was the third ascent of the peak, the second ascent was made by Bolton Brown in the intervening year.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Rixford is located in an alpine climate zone.^[9] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this peak drains into tributaries of the South Fork Kings River.

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