Both the mountain and the range are named in honor of Galen Clark, an early explorer and the first guardian of Yosemite National Park.

[8] It was summited in 1866 by Clarence King and James Gardener of the US Geological Survey.

[10] Obelisk Lake, at 9,853 feet (3,003 m) lies on the mountain's northeast flank.

[11] 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 (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.