Washer Woman is a tall sandstone

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

and tower located in the Island in the Sky District of

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their r ...

, in

San Juan County, Utah San Juan County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 14,746. Its county seat is Monticello, Utah, Monticello, while its most popul ...

. It is situated 300 feet northwest of the slightly higher

Monster Tower Monster Tower is a tall sandstone tower located in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, in San Juan County, Utah, United States. Description The tower is situated 300 feet southeast of Washer Woman, which is a towering ...

. Washer Woman is so named because the feature gives the appearance of a

washerwoman A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant. Description As evidence ...

bent over a washtub. This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1986 by the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

after previously having similar names such as Washer-Woman Arch and The Washer Woman. Washer Woman and Monster Tower are an eroded

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

composed of

Wingate Sandstone The Wingate Sandstone is a geologic formation in the Glen Canyon Group of the Colorado Plateau province of the United States which crops out in northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Geology Wingate Sandstone is particularly pro ...

, which is the remains of wind-borne sand dunes deposited approximately 200 million years ago in the

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...

Airport Tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

is set to the east, and

Mesa Arch Mesa Arch (also known as Rotary Arch and Trail Arch) is a pothole arch on the eastern edge of the Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park in northern San Juan County, Utah, United States. Mesa Arch is a spectacular natural stone arch ...

is situated to the west. A short hike to Mesa Arch provides the easiest view of Washer Woman. Access to this formation is via the four-wheel drive

White Rim Road The White Rim Road is a unpaved four-wheel drive road that traverses the top of the White Rim Sandstone formation below the Island in the Sky mesa of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah in the United States. The road was constructed in t ...

, which is the other option to see it. The top of this geological formation rises 1,300 feet above the road in approximately one mile. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from Washer Woman drains southeast into the nearby

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 ...

via Buck Canyon.

Climbing

The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of Washer Woman was made by Maurice Horn, John Horn, and Pete Carmen on Apr 20, 1967, via the South Face. The first ascent of the classic ''In Search of Suds'' route on the West Face was made by Glenn Randall and

Charlie Fowler Charlie Fowler (February 18, 1954 - November 14, 2006) was an American mountain climber, writer, and photographer. He was one of North America's most experienced mountain climbers, and successfully climbed many of the world's highest peaks. Al ...

in September 1982.Cameron M. Burns, ''Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest Colorado'' First Edition, The Mountaineers Books, 1999, page 107.

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Washer Woman. According to the

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, notabl ...

system, it is located in a

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-ar ...

zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below −0 °C (32 °F) and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. This desert climate receives less than of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.

Gallery

File:Monster Tower Canyonlands.jpg, Washer Woman, Monster Tower, and

seen from west File:Monster Tower near Moab.jpg, Washer Woman and Monster Tower File:Monster Tower from Mesa Arch.jpg, Washer Woman from Mesa Arch File:Monster Tower and Washer Woman Arch (35365770-c80e-4b89-89db-1d6837dcca73).jpg, Monster and Washer Woman from ESE at Buck Canyon File:Mesa Arch, Moab, United States (Unsplash).jpg, Washer Woman framed by Mesa Arch File:Monster Tower, Canyonlands.jpg, Washer Woman centered File:Väinö Hämäläinen - A Washer Woman (1931).jpg, Painting of a Washer Woman

References

{{reflist

External links

Canyonlands National Park
National Park Service * Washer Woman
weather forecast
* Washer Woman rock climbing
Mountainproject.com
Landforms of San Juan County, Utah Colorado Plateau Canyonlands National Park Sandstone formations of the United States

Climbing

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links