Seven Sailors

Last updated
Seven Sailors
Utah Seven Sailors Butte (45860829792).jpg
East aspect
Highest point
Elevation 4,860 ft (1,481 m) [1]
Prominence 320 ft (98 m) [1]
Parent peak Rooster Butte [1]
Isolation 2.39 mi (3.85 km) [1]
Coordinates 37°14′36″N109°49′27″W / 37.2433347°N 109.8242908°W / 37.2433347; -109.8242908 [2]
Geography
USA Utah relief location map.svg
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Seven Sailors
Location in Utah
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Seven Sailors
Seven Sailors (the United States)
Location Valley of the Gods
San Juan County, Utah, U.S.
Parent range Colorado Plateau
Topo map USGS Mexican Hat
Geology
Rock age Permian
Rock type Sandstone
Climbing
Easiest route class 5.9 climbing [1]

Seven Sailors is a 4,860-foot-elevation (1,481-meter) pillar in San Juan County, Utah, United States.

Contents

Description

Seven Sailors is situated 15 miles (24 km) west of Bluff, Utah, in the Valley of the Gods, on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. [3] Precipitation runoff from this landform drains to the San Juan River via Lime Creek. Access to the butte is via the 17-mile Valley of the Gods Road which starts at the intersection with Highway 163 near this butte. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 400 feet (122 meters) above the surrounding terrain in 0.1 mile (0.16 km). This landform's descriptive toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. [2]

Geology

Seven Sailors is composed of two principal strata of the Cutler Formation. The bottom layer is slope-forming Halgaito Formation and the upper stratum is cliff-forming Cedar Mesa Sandstone. [4] Cedar Mesa Sandstone is the remains of coastal sand dunes deposited about 270 to 300 million years ago, during the Wolfcampian (early Permian). [5] The buttes of Valley of the Gods are the result of the Halgaito Formation being more easily eroded than the overlaying sandstone. The valley floor is Honaker Trail Formation. [6]

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Seven Sailors. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone with cold winters and hot summers. [7] Summers 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.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Seven Sailors - 4,860' UT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  2. 1 2 "Seven Sailors". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  3. Valley of the Gods, Bureau of Land Management, Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  4. Robert Brett O'Sullivan, Geology of the Cedar Mesa-Boundary Butte Area, San Juan County, Utah, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965, p. 36.
  5. Baars, D.L. (1962). "Permian System of Colorado Plateau". AAPG Bulletin. 46 (2): 149–218. doi:10.1306/BC74376F-16BE-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
  6. Dan S. Chaney, The Carboniferous-Permian Transition, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 2013, p. 64.
  7. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi: 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . ISSN   1027-5606. S2CID   9654551.