Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 2,500 feet (760 meters) above Evolution Valley in less than one mile.

This geographical feature was named by Sierra Club explorer Theodore Solomons in 1895 as he wrote: "The traveler will be greatly attracted by a very sharp peak or butte that rises on the south wall.

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

Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains to Evolution Creek which is a San Joaquin River tributary.