Navajo Mountain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Navajo Mountain | |
|---|---|
 Navajo Mountain from space |
|
| Elevation | 3,148 meters (10,388 feet) |
| Location | San Juan County, Utah |
| Range | n/a |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | Laccolith |
Navajo Mountain, in southeastern Utah, is thought to be cored by a laccolith, a dome-shaped body of igneous rock that intruded into sedimentary layers and lifted up the overlying layer. The igneous rock at the core of the mountain is wrapped in sedimentary layers. Such igneous intrusions have been exposed by erosion and well studied in similar mountain ranges on the Colorado Plateau, such as the Henry Mountains, the Abajo Mountains, and the La Sal Range.
The Colorado Plateau is made of mostly flat-lying layers of sedimentary rock that record paleoclimate extremes ranging from oceans to widespread deserts over the last 1.8 billion years. The peak of Navajo Mountain, at approximately 3,148 meters (10,388 feet) elevation, is comprised of uplifted Dakota Sandstone deposited during the Cretaceous Period. (approximately 66-138 million years ago).
The Navajo Mountain region has special cultural significance to the Navajo people, who know it as Naatsis’áán ("Earth Head"). Together with Rainbow Bridge to the northwest, Navajo Mountain figures prominently as the first settlement area in western Navajo origin stories. Following the military defeat of the Diné (Navajo) by United States forces in 1863, the political landscape was changed by new boundaries and major physical alterations. The establishment of Rainbow Bridge National Monument (1910), and the filling of Glen Canyon by Lake Powell in 1963, has facilitated tourism of this previously remote region. Access to Navajo Mountain is still regulated by the sovereign Navajo Nation, and a permit is required to hike in the region.
[edit] References
- Navajo Mountain, Utah. NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved on 2006-05-02.
This article contains material that originally came from a NASA website. According to their site usage guidelines, "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". For more information, please review NASA's use guidelines.
