Pilot Knob
Southeast aspect, from Packsaddle Lake
Highest point
Elevation	12,245 ft (3,732 m)[1][2]
Prominence	645 ft (197 m)[3]
Parent peak	Mount Morrow (12,402 ft)[4]
Isolation	2.50 mi (4.02 km)[4]
Listing	Sierra Peaks Section
Coordinates	37°16′24″N 118°45′26″W / 37.2734051°N 118.7571109°W / 37.2734051; -118.7571109[5]
Geography
Pilot Knob Location in California Show map of California Pilot Knob Pilot Knob (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Fresno County, California, U.S.
Parent range	Sierra Nevada[3]
Topo map	USGS Mount Hilgard
Geology
Age of rock	Cretaceous
Mountain type	Fault block
Type of rock	Granodiorite
Climbing
First ascent	Unknown[6]
Easiest route	class 2[4] East slope

Pilot Knob is a 12,245-foot-elevation (3,732 meter) mountain summit located in Fresno County in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States.^[5] It is situated at the intersection of Piute Canyon and French Canyon, in the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Sierra National Forest. It is set 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Merriam Peak and three miles north of the Matthes Glaciers. Pilot Knob is the 360th-highest peak in California,^[4] and topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 2,800 feet (850 meters) above Hutchinson Meadow in approximately one mile. This mountain was likely named by the USGS during the 1907–09 survey for the Mt. Goddard Quadrangle,^[2] and the toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.^[5]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Pilot Knob is located in an alpine climate zone.^[7] 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 (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into Piute Creek which is a tributary of the South Fork San Joaquin River.

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