Mount McAdie is summit on the crest of the Sierra Nevada and is located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) south of Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of . It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park...

. It has three summits with the north peak being the highest. The summit ridge marks the boundary between Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the...

 and the John Muir Wilderness

John Muir Wilderness

The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California, USA for , in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it contains...

. It is also on the boundary between Inyo

Inyo County, California

-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...

 and Tulare

Tulare County, California

Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...

 counties. Lone Pine

Lone Pine, California

Lone Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Lone Pine is located south-southeast of Independence, at an elevation of 3727 feet . The population was 2,035 at the 2010 census, up from 1,655 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the Owens Valley, near the...

, 12.4 miles (20 km) to the northeast, is in the Owens Valley

Owens Valley

Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...

 on U.S. 395

U.S. Route 395 in California

In the U.S. state of California, U.S. Route 395 is a route which traverses from Interstate 15 near the southern city limits of Hesperia, north to the Oregon state line in Modoc County near Goose Lake...

.

In 1905, the mountain was named in honor of Alexander G. McAdie

Alexander George McAdie

Alexander George McAdie was an American meteorologist.While in college he joined the Army Signal Service, the predecessor of the U.S. Weather Bureau. He graduated from Harvard University in 1885....

 by James E. Church

James E. Church

James Edward Church, Jr. is best known for having developed the , the first instrument for measuring snow water content. It is still in use today. He was also active in promoting the then nascent sciences of snow hydrology and water supply forecasting.Dr...

. McAdie ran the U.S. Weather Bureau

National Weather Service

The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...

 in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 at the time, and had visited the summit of Mount Whitney in 1903. The name first appeared on a map in 1956 with the publication of the USGS

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

, 15 minute, Mount Whitney Quadrangle topographic map.

The north summit can be reached from Arc Pass and was first climbed by Norman Clyde

Norman Clyde

Norman Clyde was a mountaineer, mountain guide, freelance writer, nature photographer, and self trained naturalist. He is well-known for achieving over 130 first ascents, many in California's Sierra Nevada and Montana's Glacier National Park...

in 1922. The west face was first climbed in 1954 and is a ascent.