Elephant Butte (Monument Valley)

Elephant Butte
Elephant Butte
	West-southwest aspect
Highest point
Elevation	5,981 ft (1,823 m)
Prominence	681 ft (208 m)
Parent peak	Mitchell Mesa (6,586 ft)
Isolation	1.42 mi (2.29 km)
Coordinates	36°57′42″N 110°04′41″W / 36.9616625°N 110.0781697°W
Geography
	Elephant Butte Location in Arizona Elephant Butte Elephant Butte (the United States)
Location	Monument Valley; Navajo County, Arizona, U.S.
Parent range	Colorado Plateau
Topo map	USGS Mitten Buttes
Geology
Mountain type	Butte
Rock type	Sandstone

Elephant Butte is a 5,981-foot-elevation (1,823-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.

Description

Elephant Butte is situated 2.3 miles (3.7 km) southeast of the Monument Valley visitor center on Navajo Nation land. Precipitation runoff from this butte's slopes drains into Gypsum Creek which is a tributary of the San Juan River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 900 feet (274 meters) above the surrounding terrain in 0.25 mile (0.4 km). The nearest higher neighbor is Three Sisters, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the southwest.^[1] The landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names,^[2] and the descriptive name refers to the resemblance of an elephant's profile viewed from a south perspective.^[3]

Geology

Elephant Butte is a butte composed of three principal strata. The bottom layer is slope-forming Organ Rock Shale, the next stratum is cliff-forming De Chelly Sandstone, and the upper layer is Moenkopi Formation. The rock ranges in age from Permian at the bottom to Early Triassic at the top. The buttes and mesas of Monument Valley are the result of the Organ Rock Shale being more easily eroded than the overlaying sandstone.^[4]

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Elephant Butte. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a semi-arid climate zone with cold winters and hot summers. Summers average 54 days above 90 °F (32 °C) annually, and 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.^[5]

Gallery

Northwest aspect
Looking north through Monument Valley's North Window Viewpoint.
South aspect of Elephant Butte to the left.
East aspect
Spearhead Mesa (left), Elephant Butte (center), Camel Butte (right)
Southwest aspect
Merrick Butte (left) and Elephant Butte (right)
WSW aspect
Elephant Butte (right) viewed from John Ford Point
Southeast aspect of Elephant Butte viewed from North Window Overlook
West-southwest aspect Elephant Butte