Mount Williamson

---

title: "Mount Williamson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["fourteeners-of-california", "mountains-of-inyo-county,-california", "mountains-of-the-john-muir-wilderness", "four-thousanders-of-the-united-states", "mountains-of-northern-california"] description: "Mountain in California, United States" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Williamson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain in California, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Williamson
photo	Mt Williamson.jpg
photo_caption	Mount Williamson as seen from Manzanar in the Owens Valley
elevation	14,379 ft
elevation_ref
prominence	1643 ft
prominence_ref
isolation_mi	5.44
isolation_ref
listing	{{unbulleted list
California fourteeners 2nd<ref name	"pbl"
Emblem peak<ref name	"SPS"
Western States Climbers Star peak<ref name	"wsc" }}
parent_peak	Mount Whitney
map	California
map_caption	none
map_width	200
label_position	left
location	Inyo County, California, U.S.
range	Sierra Nevada
coordinates
coordinates_ref
topo	USGS Mount Williamson
first_ascent	1884 by William L. Hunter and C. Mulholland
easiest_route	Southeast face from George Creek, easy scramble,
::

| name = Mount Williamson | photo = Mt Williamson.jpg | photo_caption = Mount Williamson as seen from Manzanar in the Owens Valley | elevation = 14,379 ft | elevation_ref = | prominence = 1643 ft | prominence_ref = | isolation_mi = 5.44 | isolation_ref = | listing = {{unbulleted list | North America highest peaks 31st | U.S. highest major peaks 18th | California highest major peaks 2nd | California fourteeners 2nd | SPS Emblem peak | Western States Climbers Star peak }} | parent_peak = Mount Whitney | map = California | map_caption = none | map_width = 200 | label_position = left | location = Inyo County, California, U.S. | range = Sierra Nevada | coordinates = | range_coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = USGS Mount Williamson | first_ascent = 1884 by William L. Hunter and C. Mulholland | easiest_route = Southeast face from George Creek, easy scramble,

Mount Williamson, at an elevation of 14379 ft, is the second-highest mountain in both the Sierra Nevada range and the state of California, and the sixth-highest peak in the contiguous United States.

Geography

Williamson stands in the John Muir Wilderness of the Inyo National Forest. It is located approximately 6 mi north of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous U.S., and about 2.5 mi southwest of Shepherd Pass, the nearest trail access. The closest town is Independence, California, about 12 mi to the north-north-east. It lies about 1 mi east of the Sierra Crest, which forms the western edge of the Owens Valley. It is more remote than Whitney in terms of access; however, as it sits east of the crest, it is actually a bit closer to the Owens Valley floor than Whitney. For example, the drop from the summit to the forest edge is 8000 ft in approximately 4 mi. This makes it an imposing mountain, and a much less popular climb than its higher neighbor.

Climate

|location = Mount Williamson 36.6570 N, 118.3108 W, Elevation: 13780 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y

|Jan high F = 23.4 |Feb high F = 20.8 |Mar high F = 24.4 |Apr high F = 30.2 |May high F = 38.1 |Jun high F = 48.6 |Jul high F = 55.5 |Aug high F = 54.6 |Sep high F = 49.4 |Oct high F = 40.8 |Nov high F = 29.9 |Dec high F = 23.9

|Jan mean F = 15.5 |Feb mean F = 12.9 |Mar mean F = 16.2 |Apr mean F = 18.1 |May mean F = 25.2 |Jun mean F = 34.7 |Jul mean F = 41.1 |Aug mean F = 40.2 |Sep mean F = 38.8 |Oct mean F = 28.1 |Nov mean F = 21.8 |Dec mean F = 15.5

|Jan low F = 7.7 |Feb low F = 5.0 |Mar low F = 7.9 |Apr low F = 5.9 |May low F = 12.3 |Jun low F = 20.7 |Jul low F = 26.6 |Aug low F = 25.9 |Sep low F = 28.2 |Oct low F = 15.5 |Nov low F = 13.6 |Dec low F = 7.1

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 7.69 |Feb precipitation inch = 6.44 |Mar precipitation inch = 5.45 |Apr precipitation inch = 3.85 |May precipitation inch = 1.68 |Jun precipitation inch = 0.43 |Jul precipitation inch = 0.30 |Aug precipitation inch = 0.22 |Sep precipitation inch = 0.30 |Oct precipitation inch = 1.82 |Nov precipitation inch = 2.31 |Dec precipitation inch = 7.02

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date= September 28, 2023 |quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}

History

The mountain is named for Lt. Robert Stockton Williamson (1825–1882), who conducted one of the Pacific Railroad Surveys in Southern California.

The first recorded ascent of Mount Williamson was made in 1884 by W. L. Hunter and C. Mulholland, by way of the Southeast Slopes Route, although the mountain may have been climbed as early as 1881 by A.H. Johnson and Julius Schroeder. The first ascent of the West Side Route was made in 1896 by Bolton C. Brown and Lucy Brown. New routes continued to be put up on the harder faces at least through the 1980s.

Climbing

The standard ascent route is the West Side Route, accessed from Shepherd's Pass. From the pass, one travels across the Williamson Bowl, which lies between Mount Williamson and Mount Tyndall, part of the Sierra Crest. The bowl is home to five high alpine lakes. From the bowl, the route climbs gullies up the west face to the relatively broad summit plateau; this portion involves scrambling up to . Technically easier, but with a more difficult approach which can involve route finding and bushwhacking, is the Southeast Slopes Route, rising from George Creek. Other routes exist on the mountain, including a significant technical route on the North Rib (Grade IV, 5.7).

Climbing Mount Williamson is made more difficult by the lengthy and strenuous approach. Elevation gain from the trailhead is over 8000 ft, and the trail to Shepherd's Pass alone is 11 mi.

Mount Williamson is situated in the California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area. These rare animals can often be seen on the lower slopes during the winter when heavy snows drive the sheep down from their summer grazing areas. From 1981 until 2010 the California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area was closed to access for much of the year, but late in 2010, the Inyo National Forest Service declined to renew the closure, opening the area to access year-round. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/williamson_tree_distant.jpg" caption="Mount Williamson (center), from near the [[Independence Airport]]."] ::

References

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Williamson_and_Trojan_from_Alabama_Hills.jpg" caption="Mount Williamson, with [[Trojan Peak]] (left)"] ::

References

1. {{cite peakbagger
2. {{cite peakbagger
3. {{cite sps
4. {{cite wsc
5. {{cite peakbagger
6. {{cite gnis
7. {{cite Secor
8. {{cite Farquhar
9. Thompson, Frank. (September 17, 1881). "Notes From the Mountains". The Inyo Independent.
10. (September 25, 2010). "Forest Service Proposes to Change Designation of Bighorn Sheep Zoological Areas". United States Forest Service, [[Bishop, California.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::