Creative Alternatives to Mt and Pk

[cgundersen]

Those wonderful folks who appended names to places in the Sierra obviously annointed a lion's share of peaks and mountains and even a fair number of domes, points and pinnacles. But, there are some distinctive geological specimens with much less common names. For instance:
Spires: As in Bear Creek, Clyde and Cathedral
Crags: As in Center Basin, Ericsson, Devil's and Cony
Needles: Keeler and Vennacher
Monuments: Gregory's and Glacier
Knobs: Pilot and Volcanic.
I'm sure that this is only a partial list, so please help fill it in (I've spent very little time in Yosemite, so I'm certainly missing lots of features there).

And, then there are places which need no modifiers, like Valhalla or the Tablelands or the Two Teats that loom over the High Trail and face "The Minarets". So, what are your favorites?
cg

[dave54]

Hole, hollow, swale, ravine, mound, hill, arroyo, butte, rock, edge, rim.

Hell's half acre, Devil's Parade Ground, Devil's Kitchen, Penitentiary Flat, Shanghai Basin, Negro Camp, Jim Jam Ridge, Devil's Garden...

Give me time. I'll think of more.

[sparky]

Negro Camp

There is a place with this name on the Green River in Utah

[dave54]

Such names are being removed from maps, denying our history in the name of political correctness. Sometimes the removals are erroneous, such as Negro Camp Mountain in Lassen County. The PTB attempted to change the name, and a local family came forward in protest. The name had nothing to do with slaves, it was named after an early settler Joseph Negro, who was white.

Some names are just so colorful the story behind the names are amusing. Hambone Butte was named after a large hambone hanging from a wire in a tree, placed by persons unknown. It was a local trailmarker along one of the early wagon roads, and became a traditional overnight camp for travelers. Jim Jam Ridge was named by some prospectors, one of whom was habitual to his whiskey. When the whiskey went dry this particular individual began going through the DTs out in the wilderness, or the 'Jim Jams' as was sometimes referred.

The story behind Panther Cement Creek still eludes me. I cannot ascertain its origins.

[paul]

Well, of course there are a number of plateaux in the Sierra, my favorite being Bighorn Plateau. And then there are various Rocks, such as Moro; and Heights, none better than Zingheim. Crests I like also - Kuna and Matthes come to mind.
But really, the ones without modifiers may be the best. What can compare with Scylla and Charybdis, or for the more prosaic, The Major General ?

[cgundersen]

Hi y'all,
And, certainly some of those names serve as motivation for a visit. I've been on passes that I thought were Hell-for-sure and it was not Hell-for-sure pass which was not bad on my only visit (I may get back there next month, so we'll see).

And like Paul, those spots that have no modifiers can be mighty cool: the Obelisk is still on my list to see but the Sphinx was not as compelling as I was hoping, yet I sure would have enjoyed seeing Hendrix on the Watchtower. But, even without Hendrix, it's worth the "experience".
cg