Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the continental U.S. it is 14,505 feet.
- It's parent range is the Sierra Nevada Range-
- It's exact coordinates are 36°34'43"N and 118°17'31"-
- It's parent range is the Sierra Nevada Range-
- It's exact coordinates are 36°34'43"N and 118°17'31"-
Near the summit of Mount Whitney flora and fauna don't thrive as well as they would at lower elevations. One of the few plants growing at the summit is the Skypilot flower. A Skypilot is a cushion plant that grows low to the ground. The only animals at that elevation are the Parnassus Phoebus Butterfly and the Gray Crowned Rosy Finch.
Mount whitney is formed from granite. The granite that formed Mount Whitney is part of the Sierra Nevada Batholith. In Cretaceous time masses of molten rock, that originated from subduction, rose underneath what is now Whitney and solidified underground to form a large expanse of granite.