Geology
The Cathedral Peak Granodiorite of Cathedral Peak is an intrusion into an area of older intrusive (or plutonic) and metamorphic rock in the Sierra Nevada Batholith. It is part of a grouping of intrusions called the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite. Cathedral Peak is the youngest of the rock formations in the Suite, dating to the Cretaceous Period at 83 million years ago. Its composition is mainly granodiorite with phenocrysts of microcline.
Cathedral Peak was a nunatak during the Tioga glaciation of the last ice age, the peak projected above the glaciers, which carved and sharpened the peak's base while plucking away at its sides.
center|thumb|500px|Cathedral Peak, looking southwest across Tuolumne Meadows.
See also
- Budd Lake, fairly near Cathedral Peak
- Cathedral Lakes, which are directly below Cathedral Peak
- Cockscomb, another mountain fairly near Cathedral Peak
- Echo Peaks, mountains near Cathedral Peak
- Elizabeth Lake, also fairly near Cathedral Peak
- Matthes Crest, a mountain which is near Cathedral Peak
- Unicorn Peak, a peak which is near Cathedral Peak