Round Top, a 10,381-foot peak on the Sierra crest south of Carson Pass in Alpine County, is the highest point in Eldorado National Forest and the Mokelumne Wilderness and one of the Sierra Nevada’s most prominent mountains. It is the eroded remnant of a Miocene volcano, with a large exposed volcanic plug of basaltic andesite, preserved lava flows, mudflows, and the flank lava dome called Elephants Back revealing its geologic history. Its slopes show the transition from forest to alpine conditions, with the summit above tree line. In 1872 mining exploration reached the nearby canyon, and before 1879 George Davidson established a geodetic station on the summit.