Marsh Butte

Last updated
Marsh Butte
 
Marsh Butte.jpg
East aspect, from Tonto Trail
Highest point
Elevation 4,721 ft (1,439 m) [1]
Prominence 301 ft (92 m) [1]
Parent peak Diana Temple (6,683 ft) [1]
Isolation 1.51 mi (2.43 km) [1]
Coordinates 36°07′15″N112°14′43″W / 36.1207312°N 112.2451402°W / 36.1207312; -112.2451402 Coordinates: 36°07′15″N112°14′43″W / 36.1207312°N 112.2451402°W / 36.1207312; -112.2451402 [2]
Naming
Etymology Othniel Charles Marsh
Geography
USA Arizona relief location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Marsh Butte
Location in Arizona
Usa edcp relief location map.png
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Marsh Butte
Marsh Butte (the United States)
Location Grand Canyon National Park
Coconino County, Arizona, US
Parent range Coconino Plateau
Colorado Plateau
Topo map USGS Grand Canyon
Geology
Type of rock limestone, shale, sandstone
Climbing
First ascent 1977
Easiest route class 4 climbing [1]

Marsh Butte is a 4,721-foot-elevation (1,439-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County in the northern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. [2] It is situated eight miles northwest of Grand Canyon Village, immediately east-northeast of Diana Temple, and Tower of Ra stands directly opposite across Granite Gorge. Topographic relief is significant, as Marsh Butte rises over 2,300 feet (700 meters) above the Colorado River in half a mile (1 km).

Contents

Marsh Butte is composed of Mississippian Redwall Limestone, overlaying the Cambrian Tonto Group, and finally granite of the Paleoproterozoic Vishnu Basement Rocks at river level in Granite Gorge. [3] [4] According to the Köppen climate classification system, Marsh Butte is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone. [5]

History

Marsh Othniel Marsh bust.png
Marsh

In March 1906, this butte was officially named "Endymion Dome", for Endymion of Greek mythology, in keeping with Clarence Dutton's practice of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities. [2] [6] However, George Wharton James suggested it should be named after preeminent paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh (1831–1899), and two months later it was officially renamed in May 1906 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. [2] George Wharton James described it in his 1910 book "The Grand Canyon of Arizona How to See It" as "a butte of singularly beautiful structure." [7]

The first ascent of the summit was made October 29, 1977, by Pete Baertlein and Mitch McCombs via the class 4 east ridge. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newberry Butte</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butchart Butte</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Butchart Butte is a 7,602-foot (2,317 m)-elevation summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, United States. It is situated on the North Rim, midway between Gunther Castle and Siegfried Pyre, and between the Chuar and Kwagunt Valleys. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 4,900 feet (1,500 m) above the Colorado River in five miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vesta Temple</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Vesta Temple is a 6,299-foot-elevation (1,920-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated eight miles west-northwest of Grand Canyon Village, and immediately northeast of Mimbreno Point. Marsh Butte is one mile northeast, Eremita Mesa immediately southeast, and nearest higher neighbor Diana Temple is one mile north. Topographic relief is significant as Vesta Temple rises 3,900 feet above the Colorado River in 2.5 miles. Vesta Temple is named for Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, home, and family according to Roman mythology. Clarence Dutton began the practice of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities. This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1908 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Vesta Temple is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyell Butte</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Lyell Butte is a 5,362-foot (1,634 m) elevation summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, United States. It is situated six miles (9.7 km) east of Grand Canyon Village, immediately east of and below Shoshone Point, and 1.5 mile southeast of Newton Butte, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Topographic relief is significant as Lyell Butte rises 2,800 feet (850 m) above the Colorado River in 1.5 mile. Access is via the Tonto Trail which traverses the base of the peak. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Lyell Butte is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone, with precipitation runoff draining northeast to the Colorado River via Grapevine and Boulder Creeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Scenic Divide</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Grand Scenic Divide is a 5,667-foot-elevation (1,727-meter) ridge located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, Southwestern United States. It is situated immediately north of Fossil Mountain, and 1.5 mile east of Mount Huethawali. Surrounded by Bass and Serpentine Canyons, topographic relief is significant as it rises over 3,400 feet above the nearby Colorado River in 1.5 mile. It is composed of strata of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group. Further down are strata of the cliff-forming Mississippian Redwall Limestone, and Cambrian Tonto Group. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Grand Scenic Divide is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone. The normal approach to the ridge is made via the South Bass Trail, and from the top the view includes Masonic Temple, Holy Grail Temple, Dox Castle, King Arthur Castle, Evans Butte, Sagittarius Ridge, and Scorpion Ridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kibbey Butte</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Kibbey Butte is a 7,801-foot-elevation (2,378-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated two miles south of the Point Imperial viewpoint on the canyon's North Rim, where it towers over 3,000 feet above Nankoweap Canyon. Its nearest higher neighbor is Brady Peak one mile to the southeast, Hancock Butte is one mile to the north-northeast, and Alsap Butte is two miles to the east. The summit of this butte is composed of dark reddish Permian Hermit Shale overlaying the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group, in turn overlaying the cliff-forming Mississippian Redwall Limestone. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Kibbey Butte is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone. Precipitation runoff from this feature drains east into the Colorado River via Nankoweap Creek. Cross-country access to Kibbey Butte starts at the parking area for Greenland Lake. The first ascent of the summit was made by Harvey Butchart and Allyn Cureton on May 31, 1961.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Marsh Butte – 4,721' AZ". Lists of John. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Marsh Butte". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  3. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917, page 39.
  4. William Kenneth Hamblin, Anatomy of the Grand Canyon: Panoramas of the Canyon's Geology, 2008, Grand Canyon Association Publisher, ISBN   9781934656013.
  5. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN   1027-5606.
  6. Randy Moore and Kara Felicia Witt, The Grand Canyon: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture, 2018, ABC-CLIO Publisher, page 151.
  7. George Wharton James, The Grand Canyon of Arizona How to See It, 1910, Little Brown and Company, page 40.
  8. Aaron Tomasi, Pernell Tomasi, Grand Canyon Summits Select An Obscure Compilation of Sixty-nine Remote Ascent Routes in the Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry, 2001, ISBN   9780971088009, page 54.