Round Rock (Apache County, Arizona)

Round Rock
Round Rock
	South aspect
Highest point
Elevation	6,310 ft (1,923 m)
Prominence	920 ft (280 m)
Parent peak	Matthews Peak (9,550 ft)
Isolation	10.59 mi (17.04 km)
Coordinates	36°29′53″N109°33′17″W / 36.4981437°N 109.5547256°W
Naming
Native name	Tsé Nikání (Navajo)
Geography
	Round Rock Location in Arizona Round Rock Round Rock (the United States)
Location	Navajo Reservation ; Apache County, Arizona, U.S.
Parent range	Colorado Plateau
Topo map	USGS Many Farms NE
Geology
Rock age	Late Triassic
Mountain type	Mesa
Rock type	Wingate Sandstone
Climbing
Easiest route	class 5.x climbing

Last updated December 07, 2024

Round Rock is a 6,310-foot-elevation (1,923-meter) summit in Apache County, Arizona, United States.

Description

Round Rock is located 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of the community of Round Rock on Navajo Nation land, and can be seen from Highway 191. Round Rock is a mesa composed of cliff-forming Triassic Wingate Sandstone overlaying slope-forming Chinle Formation.^[4]^[5] Little Round Rock is a 6,113-foot-elevation (1,863-meter) butte less than two miles to the north.^[6] Precipitation runoff from this irregularly-shaped mesa's slopes drains into Agua Sal Wash and Chinle Wash which are part of the San Juan River drainage basin.^[2] Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 700 feet (213 meters) above the surrounding terrain of Chinle Valley in one-quarter mile (0.4 km). The nearest higher neighbor is Los Gigantes Buttes, 10.5 miles (16.9 km) to the northeast.^[1]^[2] The landform's toponym was officially adopted on April 7, 1915, by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.^[3] The Navajo call the mesa Tsé Nikání which means round flat-topped rock.^[3]^[7] According to legend, the Navajo used Round Rock as a fortress to escape from foes, by climbing it with braided ropes made out of yucca, then hauled the ropes up to leave their enemies behind.^[8] However, a different story claims that Navajos do not climb the sacred rock out of fear of punishment from lightning, snakes, bears, or whirlwinds.^[9]

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Round Rock. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a semi-arid climate zone with cold winters and hot summers. Summers average 54 days above 90 °F (32 °C) annually, and highs rarely exceed 100 °F (38 °C). Summer nights are comfortably cool, and temperatures drop quickly after sunset. Winters are cold, but daytime highs are usually above freezing. Winter temperatures below 0 °F (−18 °C) are uncommon, though possible. This desert climate receives less than 10 inches (250 millimeters) of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.^[10]

Related Research Articles

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Round Rock is a Navajo community and census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 789 at the 2010 census. It is named after Round Rock, a nearby mesa.

Teec Nos Pos is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 507 at the 2020 census. It is the western terminus of U.S. Route 64.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Painted Desert (Arizona)</span> Desert in Arizona

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Canyon de Chelly National Monument was established on April 1, 1931, as a unit of the National Park Service. Located in northeastern Arizona, it is within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation and lies in the Four Corners region. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, it preserves ruins of the indigenous tribes that lived in the area, from the Ancestral Puebloans to the Navajo. The monument covers 83,840 acres and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument. These canyons were cut by streams with headwaters in the Chuska Mountains just to the east of the monument. None of the land is federally owned. Canyon de Chelly is one of the most visited national monuments in the United States.

Chinle Unified School District No. 24 (CUSD) is a public unified school district headquartered in Chinle, a census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is managed by a five-member elected school board, each of whom is Navajo, and operates by state rules. As of 2020, nearly all of the district's 3600 students are Navajo.

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. A probable separate depositional basin within the Chinle is found in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah. The southern portion of the Chinle reaches a maximum thickness of a little over 520 meters (1,710 ft). Typically, the Chinle rests unconformably on the Moenkopi Formation.

Owl Rock is a 6,547-foot elevation sandstone summit located south of Monument Valley, in northeast Arizona. It is situated 7 miles (11 km) north of Kayenta on Navajo Nation land, and can be seen from Highway 163 perched on the east edge of Tyende Mesa, where it towers 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. Its nearest higher neighbor is Agathla Peak, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the east-northeast, on the opposite side of this highway. Precipitation runoff from this feature drains into El Capitan Wash, which is part of the San Juan River drainage basin. The first ascent of Owl Rock was made in April 1966 by Fred Beckey and Harvey Carter by climbing cracks on the west face, and then bolting up a smooth south nose to the summit. They employed 20 pitons and 14 bolts on this route called Warpath. The descriptive name stems from its uncanny resemblance to an owl when viewed from the east. This feature is known as Bee 'Adizí in Navajo language meaning "spindle", and this sacred place is considered to be a spindle left behind by the Holy People. A newer name for it is Tsé Ts'óózí, meaning "Slim Rock".

Sentinel Mesa is a 6,450-foot-elevation (1,966-meter) summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States. It is situated 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the Monument Valley visitor center on Navajo Nation land and can be seen from Highway 163. The mesa is immediately northwest of the iconic West and East Mitten Buttes. The nearest higher neighbor is Brighams Tomb, 2.64 miles (4.25 km) to the north-northeast. Precipitation runoff from this mesa's west slope drains to Mitchell Butte Wash, whereas the east slope drains to West Gypsum Creek, which are both part of the San Juan River drainage basin. The "Sentinel" name refers to how the mesa oversees Monument Valley which the Navajo consider as one of the "door posts" to Monument Valley. The landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

Eagle Mesa is a 6,624-foot-elevation (2,019-meter) summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States.

Brighams Tomb is a 6,739-foot-elevation (2,054-meter) summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States.

Mitchell Mesa is a 6,586-foot-elevation (2,007-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Spearhead Mesa is a 5,998-foot-elevation (1,828-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Rain God Mesa is a 5,921-foot-elevation (1,805-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Camel Butte is a 5,847-foot-elevation (1,782-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Elephant Butte is a 5,981-foot-elevation (1,823-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Mitchell Butte is a 6,383-foot-elevation (1,946-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Gray Whiskers is a 6,385-foot-elevation (1,946-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Rooster Rock is a 5,985-foot-elevation (1,824-meter) summit in Apache County, Arizona, United States.

Thunderbird Mesa is a 5,814-foot-elevation (1,772-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 "Round Rock - 6,310' AZ". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
1 2 3 4 "Round Rock, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
1 2 3 "Round Rock". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2024-10-31.
↑ Geologic Map of Navajo and Apache Counties, Arizona, Eldred D. Wilson, 1960, Arizona Geological Survey, Retrieved 2024-10-31.
↑ Stratigraphy of the Uppermost Triassic and the Jurassic Rocks of the Navajo Country, J.W. Harshbarger, USGS, 1957, p. 8.
↑ "Little Round Rock". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2024-10-31.
↑ Peter Iverson, Diné: A History of the Navajos, UNM Press, 2002, ISBN 9780826327154, p. 88.
↑ Cindy Yurth, Navajo Times, Retrieved 2024-10-31.
↑ Diné Bikéyah, Richard F. Van Valkenburgh, Office of Indian Affairs, US Department of the Interior, 1941, p. 127.
↑ Climate Summary for Kayenta, Arizona

External links

Weather forecast: Round Rock

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[listsofjohn-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Round Rock - 6,310' AZ". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.

[pb-2] 1 2 3 4 "Round Rock, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.

[gnis-3] 1 2 3 "Round Rock". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2024-10-31.

[4] Geologic Map of Navajo and Apache Counties, Arizona, Eldred D. Wilson, 1960, Arizona Geological Survey, Retrieved 2024-10-31.

[5] Stratigraphy of the Uppermost Triassic and the Jurassic Rocks of the Navajo Country, J.W. Harshbarger, USGS, 1957, p. 8.

[gnis2-6] "Little Round Rock". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2024-10-31.

[7] Peter Iverson, Diné: A History of the Navajos, UNM Press, 2002, ISBN 9780826327154, p. 88.

[8] Cindy Yurth, Navajo Times, Retrieved 2024-10-31.

[9] Diné Bikéyah, Richard F. Van Valkenburgh, Office of Indian Affairs, US Department of the Interior, 1941, p. 127.

[10] Climate Summary for Kayenta, Arizona

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