Castle Dome, or Castle Dome Peak is a prominent
butte
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In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...
and high point of the
Castle Dome Mountains northeast of
Yuma, Arizona, in the northwestern
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...
.
The butte lies approximately east of the historical
Castle Dome Landing on the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
(site submerged by the
Imperial Reservoir
The Imperial Reservoir is an artificial lake formed by the construction of the Imperial Diversion Dam across the Colorado River in the Lower Colorado River Valley of Imperial County, California, and Yuma County, Arizona. Partially included in t ...
). It is located above and east of
US Route 95
US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast. US 95 begins in San Luis, ...
and the Castle Dome mining district. Castle Dome is noteworthy for its recreational use for
day hiking. It is also often coated in winter or spring snowstorms as a white landform, with its loss of white being determined by season and duration of storm temperatures. Castle Dome's height is .
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Mining and minerals
Some noteworthy minerals from the Castle Dome Mountains region are vanadinite
Vanadinite is a mineral belonging to the apatite group of phosphates, with the chemical formula Pb5( V O4)3 Cl. It is one of the main industrial ores of the metal vanadium and a minor source of lead. A dense, brittle mineral, it is usually fou ...
, wulfenite
Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral with the formula Pb Mo O4. It can be most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color, sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form ...
, baryte
Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...
, and fluorite.''Castle Dome District, Castle Dome Mts, Yuma Co., Arizona, USA,'' Mindat.org
/ref>
Trails and unimproved road trails
Some of the local trails are: King Valley Road, McPherson Pass Trail, Big Eye Wash Trail, Castle Dome Mountains, and Kofa Queen Canyon Trail.
See also
* Castle Dome Landing, Arizona
* Castle Dome Mountains
References
External links
Castle Dome: Peak-(close-up Photo), Plants and Animals, Old Collecting Reports
Castle Dome Peak
at SummitPost.org
{{Mountains of Arizona
Buttes of Arizona
Yuma Desert
Landforms of Yuma County, Arizona
Lower Colorado River Valley
Tourist attractions in Yuma County, Arizona