Vesta Temple

Last updated
Vesta Temple
 
Vesta and Diana, South Rim, Grand Canyon.jpg
Aerial view, Vesta Temple left, Diana (right)
Highest point
Elevation 6,299 ft (1,920 m) [1]
Prominence 889 ft (271 m) [1]
Parent peak Diana Temple (6,683 ft) [2]
Isolation 1.27 mi (2.04 km) [2]
Coordinates 36°05′37″N112°16′08″W / 36.0935096°N 112.2689987°W / 36.0935096; -112.2689987 [3]
Geography
USA Arizona relief location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Vesta Temple
Location in Arizona
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Vesta Temple
Vesta Temple (the United States)
CountryUnited States
State Arizona
County Coconino
Protected area Grand Canyon National Park
Parent range Coconino Plateau [1]
Colorado Plateau
Topo map USGS Piute Point
Geology
Rock type limestone, sandstone, mudstone
Climbing
First ascent Alan Doty

Vesta Temple is a 6,299-foot-elevation (1,920-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. [3] 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 (1,200 meters) 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. [4] Clarence Dutton began the practice of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities. [5] This geographical feature's toponym was officially adopted in 1908 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. [3] According to the Köppen climate classification system, Vesta Temple is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone. [6]

Contents

Geology

The summit of Vesta Temple is composed of Permian Kaibab Limestone and Toroweap Formation overlaying cream-colored, cliff-forming, Permian Coconino Sandstone. [7] 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 Coconino Sandstone is reddish, slope-forming, Permian Hermit Formation, which in turn overlays the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group. [8] Further down are strata of the conspicuous cliff-forming Mississippian Redwall Limestone, the Cambrian Tonto Group, and finally granite of the Paleoproterozoic Vishnu Basement Rocks at river level in Granite Gorge. Precipitation runoff from Vesta Temple drains northeast to the Colorado River via Topaz Canyon and Boucher Creek.

Vesta Temple in front of Diana Temple. Hermit Formation (red slope) below white cliff of Coconino Sandstone, Toroweap Formation (slope, white ledge, slope), and Kaibab Formation (top cliff of Vesta and Diana Temple). Vesta Temple in front of Diana Temple.jpg
Vesta Temple in front of Diana Temple. Hermit Formation (red slope) below white cliff of Coconino Sandstone, Toroweap Formation (slope, white ledge, slope), and Kaibab Formation (top cliff of Vesta and Diana Temple).

See also

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

Pollux Temple is a 6,251-foot-elevation (1,905-meter) summit in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated ten miles northwest of Grand Canyon Village, and less than one mile northeast of Jicarilla Point. Castor Temple is one mile northwest, and Diana Temple is one mile southeast. Topographic relief is significant as Pollux Temple rises nearly 4,000 feet above the Colorado River in less than two miles. Pollux Temple is named for Pollux, the divine son of Zeus according to Greek mythology. Clarence Dutton began the practice of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Pollux Temple is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone.

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

Diana Temple is a 6,683-foot-elevation (2,037-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated nine miles northwest of Grand Canyon Village, and immediately northeast of Mescalero Point. Pollux Temple is one mile northwest, Marsh Butte one mile east-northeast, and Vesta Temple is one mile south. Topographic relief is significant as Diana Temple rises nearly 4,300 feet above the Colorado River in less than two miles. Diana Temple is named for Diana, the goddess of the hunt and the moon according to Roman mythology. Clarence Dutton began the practice of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities. The U.S. Geological Survey applied the name, and this geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1908 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. In the early 1900s this mesa was sometimes called "No Mans Land". According to the Köppen climate classification system, Diana Temple is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone.

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

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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">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">King Arthur Castle</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

King Arthur Castle is a 7,344-foot-elevation (2,238-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated one-half mile northwest of Guinevere Castle, one mile west of Excalibur, and two miles east-southeast of Holy Grail Temple, within the Shinumo Amphitheater. Topographic relief is significant as it rises over 5,100 feet above the Colorado River in 4.5 miles (7.2 km). According to the Köppen climate classification system, King Arthur Castle is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone, with precipitation runoff draining west to the Colorado River via Shinumo Creek.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Vesta Temple, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  2. 1 2 "Vesta Temple – 6,299' AZ". Lists of John. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  3. 1 2 3 "Vesta Temple". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  4. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917, page 81.
  5. Randy Moore and Kara Felicia Witt, The Grand Canyon: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture, 2018, ABC-CLIO Publisher, page 151.
  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 (5): 1633. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi: 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . ISSN   1027-5606. S2CID   9654551.
  7. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917.
  8. William Kenneth Hamblin, Anatomy of the Grand Canyon: Panoramas of the Canyon's Geology, 2008, Grand Canyon Association Publisher, ISBN   9781934656013.
Vesta Temple lower right corner Grand Canyon from airliner.jpg
Vesta Temple lower right corner