Plateau Point is a 3,789 ft cliff-elevation point in the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

Coconino County Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai p ...

of northern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is about 3.0 miles north-northeast of

Grand Canyon Village Grand Canyon Village is a census-designated place (CDP) located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. Its population was 2,004 at the 2010 Census. Located in Grand Canyon National Park, it is whol ...

, and about 2.0 miles north of Grandeur and Yavapai Points, and below the South Rim. Plateau Point, (about 1600 ft above 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 ...

), overlooks the outfall intersection of Garden Creek Canyon, and Pipe Creek Canyon, intersecting from the southeast from Mather and Yaki Points. The point is on the Tonto Platform, and is accessed by the short

Plateau Point Trail The Plateau Point Trail is a hiking and pack trail located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Description The trail is accessed by the Bright Angel Trail, at Indian Garden. The trail begi ...

, from the

Tonto Trail The Tonto Trail is a hiking trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Access The Tonto Trail does not terminate at either rim of the Grand Canyon, but begins along the south ...

, which crosses the west of the Plateau Point platform. Plateau Point sits on the

cliff-former A cliff-former is a geological unit of bedrock that is more resistant to erosion than overlying or underlying strata and consequently produces outcrops with high slope angles. It is more or less equivalent to ''ridge-former'', and may be contrast ...

(and platform-former)

Tapeats Sandstone Except where underlain by the Sixtymile Formation, Cambrian Tapeats Sandstone is typically the lowest geologic unit, about thick, at its maximum, of the 5-member Tonto Group. It is famous for being the highly-resistant mostly-horizontal unit abo ...

, which borders the northwest of Garden Creek Canyon (lower canyon), as well as the northeast. The Tapeats Sandstone sits on rocks of the

Great Unconformity Of the many unconformities (gaps) observed in geological strata, the term Great Unconformity is frequently applied to either the unconformity observed by James Hutton in 1787 at Siccar Point in Scotland,Rance, H (1999''Historical Geology: The Pre ...

, the 1,000 my layer of missing rock and time.

Geology: Tapeats Sandstone, the Tonto Platform

Plateau Point, a point on a platform of a cliff-formed rock unit, is common of the platforms created in the Grand Canyon. One notable, and highly visible example, are the points created by the upper platforms of the

Redwall Limestone The Redwall Limestone is a resistant cliff-forming unit of Mississippian age that forms prominent, red-stained cliffs in the Grand Canyon, ranging in height from to . Lithology Redwall Limestone consists predominantly of light-olive-gray to ...

. Across the

and just downstream from Plateau Point, is the

Tower of Set Tower of Set is a summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of Arizona, US. This butte is situated four miles north of Hopi Point overlook on the canyon's South Rim, two miles southeast of Tower of Ra, and three miles south-south ...

, with its beautiful points of Redwall Limestone cliffs and upper platforms. Plateau Point in Grand Canyon National Park

Plateau Point sits on cliffs of Tapeats Sandstone, approximately 100 ft to 200 ft thick. The

traverses the platform of the Tapeats both to Tonto Trail (east), and to the extreme west, just beyond the Grand Scenic Divide, to Tonto Trail (west).

Overlooking the Garden Creek & Pipe Creek Canyon outfall

Plateau Point overlooks the Lower Canyon's of the intersection of Garden Creek Canyon and intersecting Pipe Creek Canyon from the southeast. The

is forced to traverse south of this steep canyon region, and continue its traverse eastward towards the East Grand Canyon, as far as the Grand Canyon, East Rim, about 20 mi⁺ distance, by trail.

References

{{reflist

External links

Aerial view, Plateau Point, Mountainzone

Aerial view, Yavapai Point, Mountainzone

Plateau Point Hike Guide
Grand Canyon Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon, South Rim Scenic viewpoints in Grand Canyon National Park

Geology: Tapeats Sandstone, the Tonto Platform

Overlooking the Garden Creek & Pipe Creek Canyon outfall

See also

References

External links