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Mount Darwin (California)
Encyclopedia
Mount Darwin is a flat-topped mountain
in the Sierra Nevada, on the border of between Fresno
and Inyo
counties in the Kings Canyon National Park
and the Inyo National Forest
of California
. Two Australia
n geologists, Ernest Clayton Andrews
and Willard D. Johnson, made the first recorded ascent on August 12, 1908.
The modern name of the mountain was given to it in 1895 by Theodore S. Solomons and E. C. Bonner of the United States Geological Survey
as part of a series of mountains named for the six major exponents of the theory of evolution
. Mount Darwin is named for the naturalist, Charles Darwin
. Other nearby mountains in the Evolution Group include Mount Mendel, Mount Fiske, Mount Haeckel, Mount Huxley, Mount Spencer
, and Mount Wallace
. The area around the peaks, known as the Evolution Region, includes Evolution Basin and Evolution Valley.
Nearby landmarks include Darwin Glacier
and Darwin Canyon.
A similar exercise in naming mountains after naturalists and other late nineteenth century proponents of evolution theory was carried out at the West Coast Range in Tasmania
, Australia
. In contrast, Mount Darwin
in Tierra del Fuego
was given its name during the voyage of the Beagle
by captain Robert FitzRoy
to celebrate Darwin's 25th birthday on 12 February 1834.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Sierra Nevada, on the border of between Fresno
Fresno County, California
Fresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...
and Inyo
Inyo County, California
-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...
counties in the Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park is a National Park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. The park was established in 1940 and covers...
and the Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest is a federally administered forest in the United States. The forest covers parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California, and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. It contains two wilderness areas: the John Muir Wilderness and the Ansel Adams Wilderness...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Two Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n geologists, Ernest Clayton Andrews
Ernest Clayton Andrews
Ernest Clayton Andrews was an Australian geologist and botanist.Andrews was born in Balmain, New South Wales, second chid of Fearleigh Leonard Montague, artist, and Alice Maud, née Smith. At three years of age, he and his sister were unofficially adopted by John Andrews and his wife Mary Ann, née...
and Willard D. Johnson, made the first recorded ascent on August 12, 1908.
The modern name of the mountain was given to it in 1895 by Theodore S. Solomons and E. C. Bonner of the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
as part of a series of mountains named for the six major exponents of the theory of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. Mount Darwin is named for the naturalist, Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. Other nearby mountains in the Evolution Group include Mount Mendel, Mount Fiske, Mount Haeckel, Mount Huxley, Mount Spencer
Mount Spencer
Mount Spencer is a peak 1 nautical mile south of Mount Darling in the Allegheny Mountains of the Ford Ranges, Marie Byrd Land. Discovered on aerial flights from West Base of the United States Antarctic Service and named for Herbert R. Spencer of Erie, PA, the Sea Scout commander of Paul Siple,...
, and Mount Wallace
Mount Wallace
Mount Wallace is one of the Tapley Mountains, 1,490 m, standing at the south side of the mouth of Roe Glacier at the juncture with Scott Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains. Mapped by United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-64. Named by Advisory Committee on...
. The area around the peaks, known as the Evolution Region, includes Evolution Basin and Evolution Valley.
Nearby landmarks include Darwin Glacier
Darwin Glacier (California)
Darwin Glacier is a mountain glacier located on the north side of Mount Darwin in the Sierra Nevada, California. The glacier is located in Kings Canyon National Park. The glacier inherited its name from Mount Darwin, named for Charles Robert Darwin....
and Darwin Canyon.
A similar exercise in naming mountains after naturalists and other late nineteenth century proponents of evolution theory was carried out at the West Coast Range in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In contrast, Mount Darwin
Mount Darwin (Andes)
Mount Darwin, the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego at forms part of the Cordillera of the Andes, South America, just to the north of the Beagle Channel. It is formed of crystalline schists and has massive glaciers down its steep southern slopes....
in Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
was given its name during the voyage of the Beagle
Second voyage of HMS Beagle
The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
by captain Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
to celebrate Darwin's 25th birthday on 12 February 1834.
See also
- California 4000 meter peaks
- Mountain peaks of CaliforniaMountain peaks of CaliforniaThis article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of California.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Mountain peaks of North AmericaMountain peaks of North AmericaThis article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of greater North America.This article defines greater North America as the portion of the continental landmass of the Americas extending northward from Panama plus the islands surrounding that landmass...
- Mountain peaks of the United StatesMountain peaks of the United StatesThis article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the United States of America.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- ThirteenerThirteenerIn mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed...