Kaweah Peaks Ridge

Kaweah Peaks Ridge is a spur of the Great Western Divide, a sub-range of California's Sierra Nevada.^[1] The ridge is located at approximately 36°33′N 118°30.5′W / 36.550°N 118.5083°WCoordinates: 36°33′N 118°30.5′W / 36.550°N 118.5083°W in Sequoia National Park and is composed of mostly rugged and loose metamorphic rock.^[2]

There are several officially named peaks along the ridge:

• Black Kaweah (13,686+ ft / 4,172+ m)
• Kaweah Queen (13,388 ft / 4,081 m)
• Mount Kaweah (13,807 ft / 4,208 m)
• Red Kaweah, (13,726+ ft / 4184+ m)

The peaks, 20 miles (32 km) by trail from any road, are south of the Kings-Kaweah Divide, east of the Great Western Divide and, despite their name, are in the Kern watershed, not the Kaweah watershed. There are many high alpine lakes surrounding the peaks in Nine Lake Basin to the west and Kaweah Basin to the east. Visitors are rare due to the isolated location, but the Kaweah Peaks offer tranquil camping, fishing and high alpine mountaineering. For the most part, the rock is loose and volcanic.

Kaweah Peaks from the west. The rightmost, southernmost peak is Mount Kaweah, 4207 m. To the north, in the center, are Red Kaweah, 4180m., and Black Kaweah, 4170 m. On the left, northmost, is Triple Divide Peak, 3850 m.

References

1. Roper, Steve (1976). The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra. Sierra Club Books. p. 269. ISBN 0-87156-147-6.
2. Hill, Mary (2006). Geology of the Sierra Nevada. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23695-5.

External links

• On climbing the Kaweahs. SummitPost.org.