The West Temple
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The West Temple
The West Temple is a prominent 7,810-foot (2,380 m) mountain summit composed of Navajo Sandstone in Zion National Park in Washington County of Utah, United States. This, the highest feature in Zion Canyon, was originally called "''Temp-o-i-tin-car-ur''" meaning "Mountain without a trail" by the Paiute people. It was called ''Steamboat Mountain'' by local Mormon settlers before 1934, when the USGS officially changed it to its present name, which was applied by John Wesley Powell during his explorations in 1872. West Temple is situated two miles northwest of Springdale, Utah, one mile northeast of Mount Kinesava, and two miles west of the park headquarters. It is one of the notable landmarks in the park. The nearest higher peak is Windy Peak, to the north. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Virgin River. Climbing Routes Climbing Routes on The West Temple * Southwest Ridge - - 10 pitches * ''Back Where It All Begins'' - - 16 pitches * ''Big Lebo ...
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The Sundial (Zion)
The Sundial is a elevation white Navajo Sandstone summit located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States. Description The Sundial is situated in the "Towers of the Virgin", west of Zion's park headquarters, towering above the floor of Zion Canyon and the Virgin River which drains precipitation runoff from this mountain. Its nearest higher neighbor is The West Temple, one half mile to the southeast, and Altar of Sacrifice is set approximately one mile to the north-northeast. Other neighbors include The Witch Head, Bee Hive, The Sentinel, Mount Spry, Bridge Mountain, and Mount Kinesava. This geographical feature was named by the park's third superintendent, Preston P. Patraw, because it had long been used as a sundial to regulate clocks in the nearby town of Grafton. The Sundial's name was officially adopted in 1934 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Climate Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit The Sundial. Accor ...
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Zion National Park
Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches. The lowest point in the park is at Coalpits Wash and the highest peak is at Horse Ranch Mountain. A prominent feature of the park is Zion Canyon, which is long and up to deep. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone eroded by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small ...
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Hematite
Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . It has the same crystal structure as corundum () and ilmenite (). With this it forms a complete solid solution at temperatures above . Hematite naturally occurs in black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish-brown, or red colors. It is mined as an important ore mineral of iron. It is electrically conductive. Hematite varieties include ''kidney ore'', ''martite'' (pseudomorphs after magnetite), ''iron rose'' and ''specularite'' (specular hematite). While these forms vary, they all have a rust-red streak. Hematite is not only harder than pure iron, but also much more brittle. Maghemite is a polymorph of hematite (γ-) with the same chemical formula, but with a spinel structure like magnetite. Large deposits of hematite are found in ...
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The Witch Head
The Witch Head is a white Navajo Sandstone mountain in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States, that is part of the Towers of the Virgin. Description The Witch Head is situated west of Zion's park headquarters, towering above the floor of Zion Canyon and the Virgin River, which drains precipitation runoff from this mountain. Its neighbors include The West Temple, The Sundial, Altar of Sacrifice, Meridian Tower, Bee Hive, and Three Marys. The first ascent of this feature was made in early March 1997 by Dan Stih and Ron Raimonde via the west face, which they rated a climb. Climate Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit The Witch Head. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below 32 °F (0 °C), and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. Th ...
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Geology Of The Zion And Kolob Canyons Area
The geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area includes nine known exposed formations, all visible in Zion National Park in the U.S. state of Utah. Together, these formations represent about 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation in that part of North America. Part of a super-sequence of rock units called the Grand Staircase, the formations exposed in the Zion and Kolob area were deposited in several different environments that range from the warm shallow seas of the Kaibab and Moenkopi formations, streams and lakes of the Chinle, Moenave, and Kayenta formations to the large deserts of the Navajo and Temple Cap formations and dry near shore environments of the Carmel Formation. Subsequent uplift of the Colorado Plateau slowly raised these formations much higher than where they were deposited. This steepened the stream gradient of the ancestral rivers and other streams on the plateau. The faster-moving streams took advantage of uplift-created joints in the rock ...
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Cold Semi-arid Climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-arid climates, depending on variables such as temperature, and they give rise to different biomes. Defining attributes of semi-arid climates A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification, which treats steppe climates (''BSk'' and ''BSh'') as intermediates between desert climates (BW) and humid climates (A, C, D) in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential. Semi-arid climates tend to support short, thorny or scrubby vegetation and are usually dominated by either grasses or shrubs as it usually can't support forests. To determine if a location has a semi-arid climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. The method used to find the precipitation threshold (in millimeters): *multiply ...
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Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, the climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1894–1981) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system. The Köppen climate classification divides climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (temperate), ''D'' (continental), and ''E'' (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the ''E'' group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, ''Af'' indi ...
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West Aspect Of The West Temple
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dire ...
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Moenkopi Formation
The Moenkopi Formation is a geological formation that is spread across the U.S. states of New Mexico, northern Arizona, Nevada, southeastern California, eastern Utah and western Colorado. This unit is considered to be a group in Arizona. Part of the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range, this red sandstone was laid down in the Lower Triassic and possibly part of the Middle Triassic, around 240 million years ago. History of investigation There is no designated type locality for this formation. It was named for a development at the mouth of Moencopie Wash in the Grand Canyon area by Ward in 1901. In 1917 a 'substitute' type locality was located by Gregory in the wall of the Little Colorado Canyon, about 5 miles below Tanner Crossing in Coconino County, Arizona. While in the Great Basin, Bassler and Reeside characterized and named the Rock Canyon Conglomerate, Virgin Limestone, and Shnabkaib Shale members in 1921. Salt Creek (later replaced by Wupatki and Moqui Members) and the H ...
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Chinle Formation
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In New Mexico, it is often raised to the status of a geological group, the Chinle Group. Some authors have controversially considered the Chinle to be synonymous to the Dockum Group of eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle, and southwestern Kansas. The Chinle Formation is part of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and the southern section of the Interior Plains.GEOLEX database entry for Chinle
USGS (viewed 19 March 2006)
A probable separate depositional basin within the Chinle is found in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Ut ...
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Moenave Formation
The Moenave Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation, in the Glen Canyon Group. It is found in Utah and Arizona. The Moenave was deposited on an erosion surface on the Chinle Formation following an early Jurassic uplift and unconformity that represents about ten million years of missing sedimentation.Biek, Robert F.; Grant C. Willis, Micheal D. Hylland, and Hellmut H. Doelling (August 2003). "Geology of Zion National Park, Utah". In Paul B. Anderson (editor). Geology of Utah's Parks and Monuments. Bryce Canyon Natural History Association and Utah Geological Association. Periodic incursions of shallow seas from the north during the Jurassic flooded parts of Wyoming, Montana, and a northeast–southwest trending trough on the Utah/Idaho border. The Moenave was deposited in a variety of river, lake, and flood-plain environments, near the ancient Lake Dixie. The oldest beds of this formation belong to the Dinosaur Canyon Member, a reddish, slope-forming rock layer with thin beds of ...
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Kayenta Formation
The Kayenta Formation is a geological formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the Colorado Plateau province of the United States, including northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Traditionally has been suggested as Sinemurian-Pliensbachian, but more recent dating of detrital zircons has yielded a depositional age of 183.7 ± 2.7 Ma, thus a Pliensbachian-Toarcian age is more likely A previous depth work recovered a solid Lower-Middle Pliensbachian age from measurements done in the Tenney Canyon. This rock formation is particularly prominent in southeastern Utah, where it is seen in the main attractions of a number of national parks and monuments. These include Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, the San Rafael Swell, and Canyonlands National Park. The Kayenta Formation frequently appears as a thinner dark broken layer below Navajo Sandstone and above Wingate Sandstone (all three formations are in the same group). Together, these thre ...
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