Donner Peak is an 8,019-foot summit near Donner Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada, rising steeply above Donner Lake and standing amid landmarks closely linked to Sierra crossing history. The peak, pass, and lake all derive their names from the Donner Party, trapped by snow near the lake in the winter of 1846 to 1847. Its name was already in use during Central Pacific Railroad construction through the pass in 1865, appeared on a California Geological Survey map in 1873, and was officially adopted in 1940. Heavy Pacific storms make this one of the snowiest parts of the contiguous United States, a climate that has shaped emigrant travel, railroad building, and later skiing.