Ford Butte

Ford Butte is a 6,156-foot (1,876 meter) elevation summit located on Navajo Nation land in San Juan County of northwest New Mexico, United States.[4] It is a landmark set one mile east of U.S. Route 491, along with its nearest higher neighbor, Bennett Peak, on the opposite side of the highway. Ford Butte is one of the major diatremes of the Four Corners area, and with significant relief as it rises 450 feet (137 meters) above the high-desert plain.[1] It is situated about 22 miles (35 km) south-southeast of Shiprock, the most famous of these diatremes. Ford Butte is set in the northeastern part of the Navajo Volcanic Field, a volcanic field that includes intrusions and flows of minette and other unusual igneous rocks which formed around 30 million years ago during the Oligocene.[5] This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1915 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.[4]

Ford Butte
Southwest aspect
Highest point
Elevation6,156 ft (1,876 m) [1]
Prominence526 ft (160 m) [2]
Parent peakBennett Peak (6,471 ft)[3]
Isolation1.74 mi (2.80 km) [2]
Coordinates36°23′03″N 108°42′28″W [4]
Geography
Ford Butte
Location in New Mexico
Ford Butte
Ford Butte (the United States)
LocationSan Juan County, New Mexico, US
Parent rangeChuska Mountains[3]
Colorado Plateau
Topo mapUSGS Little Water
Geology
Age of rockOligocene
Mountain typeVolcanic plug
Type of rockVolcanic breccia
Climbing
First ascent1971
Easiest routeclass 5.7 climbing

Climbing

The first ascent of the north summit was made in 1971 by Mark Dalen and David Nordstrom via a class 5.7 route.[6] [7] The south summit was first climbed April 6, 1990, by Cameron Burns and Mike Baker via a class 5.9 route.[8] Climbing here requires permission from Navajo authorities.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Ford Butte is located in a semi-arid climate zone with cold winters and hot summers.[9] Ford Butte is within the Chaco River drainage basin.

West aspect of Ford Butte

See also

References
  1. Robert Julyan, The Mountains of New Mexico, 2006, University of New Mexico Press, page 109.
  2. "Ford Butte - 6,156' NM". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  3. Ford Butte, Peakvisor.com, retrieved December 2, 2020
  4. "Ford Butte". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  5. Steven C. Semken, The Navajo Volcanic Field, in Volcanology in New Mexico, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 18, p. 79, 2001. ISSN 1524-4156
  6. Cameron M. Burns, Roaming the Chuska, American Alpine Journal, 1994, page 62.
  7. Cameron M. Burns, American Alpine Club, 1993
  8. Cameron M. Burns, North America, United States, New Mexico, Ford Butte, American Alpine Club, 1992
  9. 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.
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