Madera Peak

Madera Peak is a mountain summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Madera County, California, United States. It is situated in the Ansel [Adams Wilderness] on land managed by Sierra National Forest. Madera Peak is the southernmost summit of an ancient ridge from which the Clark Range formed. The mountain is set south-southeast of Gale Peak, and topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above Lady Lake in. Precipitation runoff from this landform drains into tributaries of the San Joaquin River.

History

This geographical feature was originally named "Black Peak", but the Madera County Chamber of Commerce petitioned for the name to be changed to perpetuate the name of the county, thus the "Madera Peak" toponym was officially adopted in 1932 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Madera County derived its name from the town of Madera, which in turn was laid out by the California Lumber Company in 1876. "Madera" is the Spanish language word for "wood".
The first ascent of the peak is unknown, however a cairn without a record was found on the summit in August 1931 by Hermina Daulton, Mr. and Mrs. Garthwaite and their seven-year-old son, Ted.

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Madera Peak is located in an alpine climate zone. 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, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.