It was called "Matterhorn Peak" by early European visitors because of its similarity in appearance to that Alpine peak.

Bridgeport plays a small role in the novel The Dharma Bums (1958) by Jack Kerouac; it is the place from where the main characters Ray Smith, Japhy Ryder and Henry Morley start their climb to the nearby Matterhorn Peak.

Also a large number of peaks outside the Alps were named or nicknamed after Swiss mountains, such as the Wetterhorn Peak in Colorado or the Matterhorn Peak in California (see the Matterhorn article for a list of Matterhorns in the world).

At its northern end it comprises Tower Peak and Matterhorn Peak, at 12,264 feet (3743 m) its highest elevation.

One episode in the book features Smith, Ryder and Henry Morley (based on real-life friend John Montgomery) climbing Matterhorn Peak in California.

Good examples of Matthes moraines can be found below the Palisade Glacier (the largest glacier in the range), Lyell and Maclure glaciers in southern Yosemite N.P., and the smaller glaciers below Mount Dana, Kuna Peak, Mount Conness, and Matterhorn Peak.

The highest point in the range is Matterhorn Peak, at an elevation of 10,839 feet (3305 m).

They then joined up with young climber Walter (Bubs) Brem, hiked to Sawtooth Ridge and made a first ascent of Finger Peaks, a new route on the northwest face of Matterhorn Peak, and the first ascent of (later named) The Dragtooth.

In the Sawtooth Range, they climbed The Doodad, the West Tooth, and Matterhorn Peak.