Cathedral Mountain (Capitol Reef)
Cathedral Mountain is a 6,924-foot (2,110-meter) elevation summit located in Capitol Reef National Park, in Wayne County of Utah, United States.[2] This remote erosional remnant is situated 13 miles (26 km) north-northwest of the park's visitor center, and 0.6 mile (1 km) west of Needle Mountain, in the Middle Desert of the park's North (Cathedral Valley) District. Cathedral Valley was so named in 1945 by Charles Kelly, first superintendent of Capitol Reef National Monument, because the valley's sandstone monoliths reminded early explorers of ornate, Gothic cathedrals, with fluted walls, alcoves, and pinnacles.[3] The free-standing Cathedral Mountain towers over 500 feet (150 meters) above the valley floor, which is within the Fremont River drainage basin. John C. Frémont's 1853 expedition passed through Cathedral Valley.[4]
| Cathedral Mountain | |
|---|---|
 Southwest aspect | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 6,924 ft (2,110 m) [1] |
| Prominence | 384 ft (117 m) [1] |
| Parent peak | Point 6984[1] |
| Isolation | 1.89 mi (3.04 km) [1] |
| Coordinates | 38°29′35″N 111°22′01″W [2] |
| Geography | |
  Cathedral Mountain Location in Utah  Cathedral Mountain Cathedral Mountain (the United States) | |
| Location | Capitol Reef National Park Wayne County, Utah, US |
| Parent range | Colorado Plateau |
| Topo map | USGS Cathedral Mountain |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Jurassic |
| Type of rock | Entrada Sandstone |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | class 5.x climbing[1] |
Geology
Cathedral Mountain is composed of reddish Entrada Sandstone with a hard, grayish-green sandstone and siltstone Curtis Formation layer caprock which protects it from erosion.[5] The sandstone, which was originally deposited as sandy mud on a tidal flat, is believed to have formed about 160 million years ago during the Jurassic period as a giant sand sea, the largest in Earth's history..[6][7] Stratum in Cathedral Valley have a gentle inclination of three to five degrees to the east, and appear nearly horizontal. Long after these sedimentary rocks were deposited, the Colorado Plateau was uplifted relatively evenly, keeping the layers roughly horizontal, but Capitol Reef is an exception because of the Waterpocket Fold, a classic monocline, which formed between 50 and 70 million years ago during the Laramide Orogeny.[8]
Gallery
South aspect, seen from Cathedrals Trail
Cathedral Mountain (left), Needle Mountain (right), from the southeast
Cathedral Mountain (left), Needle Mountain (right)
"The Cathedrals" with Cathedral Mountain to left
Cathedral Valley sunset, with Cathedral Mountain to left
Cathedral Mountain from Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook
Climate
Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Cathedral Mountain. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below 32 °F (0 °C), and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. This desert climate receives less than 10 inches (250 millimeters) of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.
| Climate data for Capitol Reef Visitor Center, elevation 5,653 ft (1,723 m), 1981-2010 normals, extremes 1981-2019 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 58.6 (14.8) |
68.3 (20.2) |
78.3 (25.7) |
84.4 (29.1) |
94.6 (34.8) |
100.2 (37.9) |
100.8 (38.2) |
97.9 (36.6) |
95.4 (35.2) |
86.1 (30.1) |
70.4 (21.3) |
61.5 (16.4) |
100.8 (38.2) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 40.6 (4.8) |
46.4 (8.0) |
54.7 (12.6) |
65.0 (18.3) |
74.5 (23.6) |
85.3 (29.6) |
90.4 (32.4) |
87.9 (31.1) |
80.2 (26.8) |
66.1 (18.9) |
51.3 (10.7) |
40.6 (4.8) |
65.3 (18.5) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 17.8 (−7.9) |
22.7 (−5.2) |
30.2 (−1.0) |
36.2 (2.3) |
44.7 (7.1) |
53.1 (11.7) |
60.4 (15.8) |
58.5 (14.7) |
50.4 (10.2) |
39.0 (3.9) |
27.6 (−2.4) |
18.2 (−7.7) |
38.3 (3.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −4.2 (−20.1) |
−11.8 (−24.3) |
9.1 (−12.7) |
18.1 (−7.7) |
27.2 (−2.7) |
34.6 (1.4) |
42.4 (5.8) |
45.1 (7.3) |
29.9 (−1.2) |
11.7 (−11.3) |
8.0 (−13.3) |
−7.5 (−21.9) |
−11.8 (−24.3) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.52 (13) |
0.34 (8.6) |
0.53 (13) |
0.47 (12) |
0.59 (15) |
0.47 (12) |
0.91 (23) |
1.20 (30) |
0.80 (20) |
0.98 (25) |
0.49 (12) |
0.32 (8.1) |
7.62 (194) |
| Average dew point °F (°C) | 17.3 (−8.2) |
20.8 (−6.2) |
23.0 (−5.0) |
24.5 (−4.2) |
29.1 (−1.6) |
32.0 (0.0) |
40.0 (4.4) |
41.8 (5.4) |
34.8 (1.6) |
28.2 (−2.1) |
21.9 (−5.6) |
17.5 (−8.1) |
27.6 (−2.4) |
| Source: PRISM[9] | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- "Cathedral Mountain - 6,924' UT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cathedral Mountain
- North (Cathedral Valley) District, National Park Service
- Peter Massey, Jeanne Wilson, Utah Trails Central Region, 2006, Adler Publishing Company, page 106.
- North (Cathedral Valley) District, National Park Service
- Capitol Reef National Park, National Park Service
- North (Cathedral Valley) District, National Park Service
- Capitol Reef Geology, NPS.gov
- "PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University". Retrieved February 19, 2019.
External links
- Capitol Reef National Park National Park Service
- Weather Forecast: Cathedral Mountain