Dana Butte Explained

Dana Butte
Photo Size:310px
Label:Dana Butte
Label Position: right
Elevation Ft:4,964
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence Ft:300
Location:Grand Canyon
Coconino County, Arizona. U.S.
Parent Peak:Hopi Point (South Rim)
Isolation:2
Map:USA Arizona#USA
Map Size:180
Coordinates:36.0914°N -112.1504°W
Topo:USPS Grand Canyon
Age:Pennsylvanian
Type:sedimentary rock
Rock:Manakacha Formation
Watahomigi Formation
Redwall Limestone
Tonto Group
_3-Muav Limestone
_2-Bright Angel Shale
_1-Tapeats Sandstone
Vishnu Basement Rocks
Granitic (Xg).[2]
Metamorphic Rocks (Xm)[3]

Dana Butte is a 4964feet prominence, (named for geologist and volcanologist James Dwight Dana), adjacent the course of the Colorado River, in the Grand Canyon and sits on the south side of Granite Gorge. The butte is roughly north-northwest of Grand Canyon Village of the central Grand Canyon, and lies about due north of Pima Point (South Rim).

The butte lies at the end of a higher elevation bright-red, very narrow Supai Group ridgeline, and the spire of Dana Butte sits on the cliff-former Redwall Limestone that creates not only massive cliffs, but platforms that support younger rock units above. Dana Butte's prominence spire is dull gray, sitting on gray debris on the platform, and is composed of weathered Supai Group Manakacha Formation, also a cliff-former rock. Dana Butte drains west into the Salt Creek (Grand Canyon) drainage, and east into the adjacent canyon of the terminus of Salt Creek.

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://topozone.com/arizona/coconino-az/summit/dana-Butte/ Topozone: Dana Butte, 4,964 ft
  2. “Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon in the Vicinity of the South Rim Visitor Center”, Kamilli, R. J., and Richard, S. M., editors, 1998. Geologic Highway Map of Arizona: Tucson, Arizona Geological Society and Arizona Geological Survey, 1 sheet containing text and figures, scale 1:1,000,000.
  3. “Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon in the Vicinity of the South Rim Visitor Center”.