Proposed Feature Name:
Sharsmith Peak
State or
Equivalent where feature is located:
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Is the
feature located in other States?:
No
Yes
County
where feature is located?:
Tuolumne & Mono border
City, Town,
Township where feature is located:
NA
Administrative Area where feature is
located:
Yosemite National Park/Inyo National Forest
Action
requested:
Proposed New Name
Name
or Spelling Change
Apply existing Name to Different Feature
other
Why does
feature need a name?:
To provide inspiration to attain education
about and appreciation of the Sierra
Nevada by successive generations, through
reference to a great naturalist.
Feature
type:
mountain summit
Is this a
GNIS feature?
Unknown
Yes
No
WRJones or someone to find out what a
GNIS feature is.
The peak that has come to be informally called Sharsmith Peak has its summit area above the tree-line in the arctic-alpine life-zone of
plants. The summit area is primarily loose granitic rock varying in size from irregular
angularly shaped blocks to small sand grains
of crystals so that boreal plants may obtain
footholds, moisture, and protection from
wind in sheltered sites. The peak is located at the crest of the Sierra Nevada on
the eastern border of Yosemite National Park, which is also the eastern border
of the legislated Yosemite National Park wilderness. The peak is at
latitude N37º 56.194' and longitude W119° 17.615'.
This point is labeled 12,002 as shown on the 1956 Tuolumne
Meadows, Calif. 15 minute topographic quadrangle map published by the
U.S. Geological Survey. This point is located on the Sierra Nevada crest
between White Mountain (south of Mount Conness) and Gaylor Peak (north of Tioga Pass). The
1994 Tioga Pass, CA topographic quadrangle map published by the U.S. Geological Survey covers 7.5
minutes of the above area and shows this same summit to be just over 12,000 feet
high but does not label it. (Topo USA mapping software, version 6.0 from DeLorme,
shows the peak at 11,939 feet altitude.) The Yosemite area west of
informally-named Sharsmith Peak is managed
by the National Park Service of the Department of Interior; this region is to be
maintained in its present wilderness condition. East of informally-named Sharsmith Peak is Inyo
National Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service of the Department of
Agriculture. Lands in the forest are here designated
the Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area. Purpose of the Hall area is to
preserve ecological integrity, genetic diversity, a baseline for measuring
ecological change, and to educate; these purposes relate
directly to Carl's focus in alpine botany and his wish to maintain natural areas
for plants. In order to avoid human impacts, the Research Area does not encourage public use; it is envisioned that
formally naming Sharsmith Peak would add little or
no public use to the Research Area because the informal name Sharsmith Peak is already in
use for the feature. The point is also on the border of Tuolumne County (to the west) and
Mono County (to the east).
The name Sharsmith Peak is from Dr. Carl
W. Sharsmith (1903-1994), Yosemite National
Park ranger-naturalist who served mainly in
the Tuolumne Meadows area of the High Sierra
for over 60 summers and is deeply associated
with that region. He deeply touched the
lives of thousands of persons through his
educational and motivational talents, and
many of these persons as a result launched
careers or developed amateur interests in
ecology and conservation that continues to
further the purposes for which the U.S.
Congress established and maintains both
Yosemite National Park and Inyo National
Forest and indeed the National Park Service
and the U.S. Forest Service which manage
these and other areas. Dr. Sharsmith's
science was botany, and he did meadow
ecology study for use in their management.
Dr. Sharsmith established the Carl W.
Sharsmith Herbarium at San Jose State
University, San Jose, California, where he
was Professor of Botany, a renowned expert
in grasses. While living, Dr. Sharsmith
received the Meritorious Service Award from
the Department of the Interior and the first
Yosemite Award from that park. His name
established on a mountain peak will serve to
perpetuate awareness of his lifework so that
continued benefit may result from enhanced
awareness of the dedication of this man to
his ideals of the use of education as a
means to understanding and effective correct
action.
Feature
elevation:
12,002 nominally as shown on 1956
Tuolumne Meadows, Calif. 15-minute
topographic quadrangle map
Mouth or center of
feature:
Latitude:
N37º 56.194
Longitude:
W119° 17.615'.
Source of feature:
Latitude:
Not applicable
Longitude:
Not applicable
Section(s):
23
Township(s):
T1N
Ranges(s):
R24E
Meridian:
To be determined
[from e-mail dated 11/5/2003 to Bill Jones]. Regarding informally-named Sharsmith Peak, John Carroll O'Neill and
Elizabeth Stone O'Neill write in Tioga Tramps, page 26 (published 2002 by
Albicaulis Press of Groveland, California), "There is an interest in naming
this mountain as a memorial to Yosemite's famous ranger-naturalist, Carl Sharsmith."
Is the
proposed name in local usage?:
Yes
If yes,
for approximately how many years?:
at least 3 years
Is there
local opposition or conflict regarding the
proposed name?:
No
Yes
www.name4carl.org . This website was
developed in response to interest from many
individuals and several organizations in the
naming so that a single proposal could be
presented to the Board on Geographic Names,
the proposal now submitted on this form.
Proposed By:
Name:
Name4Carl Committee/William
R. Jones
Street:
0637 Blue Ridge Road
City, State
Silverthorne, CO 80498
Email:
email
Telephone:
970/468-7673
Fax Number:
970/468-7673
Title:
Lead Member
Company or
Name4Carl Committee
Submitted By:
Name:
Name4Carl Committee/William
R Jones
Street:
0637 Blue Ridge Road
City, State
Silverthorne, CO 80498
Email:
email
Telephone:
970/468-7673
Fax Number:
970/468-7673
Title:
Lead Member
Company or
Name4Carl Committee
Do you
have additional materials to submit?:
Yes: attached background information on
the naming proposal and Dr. Sharsmith are
appended as are supporting statements from individuals
and petitions from organizations.