| Mount Ritter | |
|---|---|
Mount Ritter (left) from the John Muir Trail, July 2006 |
|
| Elevation | 13,149 ft (4,008 m) [1][2] |
| Prominence | 3,957 ft (1,206 m) [2] |
| Parent peak | Red Slate Mountain[3] |
| Listing | SPS Emblem peak[4] Highest point in Madera County[2] |
| Location | |
| Location | John Muir Wilderness, Madera County, California, USA |
| Range | Sierra Nevada, Ritter Range |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Ritter |
| Geology | |
| Type | Metavolcanic rock |
| Age of rock | Cretaceous |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1872 by John Muir[5] |
| Easiest route | Snow/rock scramble |
Mount Ritter is located in the Sierra Nevada, in Madera County of California, in the Western United States. It is in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Mount Ritter is the 16th highest mountain peak of California.
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Mount Ritter is made of a strikingly dark rock, and is quite prominent due to its height (over 13,000 ft) and isolation.[2] It is in the middle of the Ritter Range, which includes Banner Peak and the Minarets. The prominent and memorable shape of the Ritter-Banner pair is visible from high elevations far to both north and south along the Sierras.
The mountain is named for Carl Ritter, who had been a teacher of Josiah Whitney, chief of the California Geological Survey, when he was a student in Berlin during the 1840s.[6]