Steamboat Mountain (Coconino County, Arizona)

Last updated
Steamboat Mountain
Steamboat Mountain, Grand Canyon.jpg
Northeast aspect, from Locust Point
Highest point
Elevation 7,410 ft (2,260 m) [1]
Prominence 1,370 ft (420 m) [1]
Parent peak Powell Plateau (7,661 ft) [2]
Isolation 2.48 mi (3.99 km) [2]
Coordinates 36°21′57″N112°23′56″W / 36.3658246°N 112.3987576°W / 36.3658246; -112.3987576 Coordinates: 36°21′57″N112°23′56″W / 36.3658246°N 112.3987576°W / 36.3658246; -112.3987576 [3]
Geography
USA Arizona relief location map.svg
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Steamboat Mountain
Location in Arizona
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Steamboat Mountain
Steamboat Mountain (the United States)
Location Grand Canyon National Park
Coconino County, Arizona, US
Parent range Kaibab Plateau [1]
Colorado Plateau
Topo map USGS Powell Plateau
Geology
Type of rock sandstone, limestone, mudstone
Climbing
First ascent October 17, 1964 Harvey Butchart, Marshall Demick [4]

Steamboat Mountain is a 7,410-foot-elevation (2,260-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. [3] It is situated four miles northwest of Holy Grail Temple, and 2.5 miles west-southwest of Timp Point on the North Rim. George Wharton James described it as a "majestic butte", nearly encircled by Galloway and Saddle Canyons. [5] Topographic relief is significant as it rises over 5,400 feet (1,600 meters) above the Colorado River in three miles. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Steamboat Mountain is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone, with precipitation runoff draining west to the Colorado River via Tapeats Creek and Stone Creek. [6] This feature's name was officially adopted in 1932 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. [3]

Contents

History

In 1858, Lieutenant Joseph Ives led an expedition up the Colorado River, starting at the river's mouth and making it to the lower Grand Canyon. The mode of transportation was a steamboat named Explorer. Steamboat Mountain is located in an area of geographical features that were named after the canyon's early explorers. Steamboat Mountain is set at the northern tip of Powell Plateau, named for John Wesley Powell. Ives Point lies six miles to the southwest at the southwest tip of Powell Plateau. Also on Powell Plateau are Newberry Point, Dutton Point, Wheeler Point, Thompson Point, and Beale Point. These Grand Canyon pioneers are collectively commemorated by Explorers Monument, located immediately south of Powell Plateau. [7]

Geology

Steamboat Mountain is composed of Permian Kaibab Limestone, overlaying a conspicuous band of cream-colored, cliff-forming, Permian Coconino Sandstone. [8] The sandstone, which is the third-youngest of the strata in the Grand Canyon, was deposited 265 million years ago as sand dunes. Below the conspicuous Coconino Sandstone layer is slope-forming, Permian Hermit Formation, which in turn overlays the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group. [9] Further down are strata of Mississippian Redwall Limestone, the Cambrian Tonto Group, and finally Paleoproterozoic Vishnu Basement Rocks at river level in Granite Gorge.

See also

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

Manu Temple is a 7,184-foot-elevation (2,190-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, United States. It is situated one mile south of the North Rim's Widforss Point, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of parent Buddha Temple, and three miles southwest of the North Rim's Bright Angel Point. Topographic relief is significant as it rises nearly 3,600 feet in two miles above Bright Angel Canyon to the east, and 2,200 feet in less than one mile above Haunted Canyon to the immediate west. Its neighbors include Brahma Temple and Deva Temple to the east on the opposite side of Bright Angel Canyon. From the South Rim of the canyon it may be difficult to discern Manu Temple from the walls of the Kaibab Plateau one mile behind it, but when the lighting and atmosphere are favorable, this butte of great proportions can be seen clearly defined.

<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">Castor Temple</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Castor is a 6,221-foot-elevation (1,896-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, United States. It is situated 11 miles west-northwest of Grand Canyon Village, and less than one mile north of Piute Point. Pollux Temple is one mile southeast, and Geikie Peak is three miles to the east. Topographic relief is significant as Castor Temple rises over 3,800 feet above the Colorado River in two miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinking Ship (Grand Canyon)</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Sinking Ship is a 7,344-foot (2,238 m) elevation summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, United States. This butte is situated 1.7 miles (2.7 km) southeast of the Grandview Point overlook on the canyon's South Rim, and 1.25 miles (2.01 km) southwest of Coronado Butte. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 4,800 feet (1,500 m) above the Colorado River in 4 miles (6.4 km). According to the Köppen climate classification system, Sinking Ship is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone.

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

Masonic Temple is a 6,242-foot-elevation (1,903-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. Set below Dutton Point on the Powell Plateau, and overlooking the Shinumo Amphitheater, it is situated three miles west of Holy Grail Temple, 2.7 miles northwest of Dox Castle, and 1.6 miles north-northeast of Fan Island. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 4,000 feet above the Colorado River in four miles (6.4 km). According to the Köppen climate classification system, Masonic Temple is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone, with precipitation runoff draining south to the Colorado River via Hakatai Canyon from the west aspect, Burro Canyon from the south aspect, and Muav Canyon from the east aspect. This butte is an erosional remnant composed of strata of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group overlaying the conspicuous cliffs of Mississippian Redwall Limestone, in turn overlaying the Cambrian Tonto Group.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Steamboat Mountain, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  2. 1 2 "Steamboat Mountain – 7,410' AZ". Lists of John. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Steamboat Mountain". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  4. Harvey Butchart’s Hiking Log – Detailed Hiking Log (February 28, 1964 – December 31, 1964)
  5. George Wharton James, The Grand Canyon of Arizona How to See It, 1910, Little Brown and Company, page 83.
  6. 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.
  7. Randy Moore and Kara Felicia Witt, The Grand Canyon: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture, 2018, ABC-CLIO Publisher, page 74.
  8. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917.
  9. William Kenneth Hamblin, Anatomy of the Grand Canyon: Panoramas of the Canyon's Geology, 2008, Grand Canyon Association Publisher, ISBN   9781934656013.
Steamboat Mountain from Timp Point Steamboat Mountain from North Timp Point.jpg
Steamboat Mountain from Timp Point
Steamboat Mountain Grand Canyon North Rim Steamboat Mountain.jpg
Steamboat Mountain
View northwest toward Steamboat Mountain from north end of Powell Plateau. 1969 Steamboat Mountain from north end of Powell Plateau.jpg
View northwest toward Steamboat Mountain from north end of Powell Plateau. 1969