| The Castle | |
| Elevation Ft: | 6387 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence Ft: | 327 |
| Isolation Mi: | 0.52 |
| Parent Peak: | Peak 6700 |
| Part Type: | Protected area |
| Part: | Capitol Reef National Park |
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Utah |
| Region: | Wayne |
| Region Type: | County |
| Map: | Utah#USA |
| Map Size: | 230 |
| Label Position: | right |
| Coordinates: | 38.2986°N -111.2641°W |
| Topo: | USGS Twin Rocks |
| Easiest Route: | climbing |
The Castle is a 6387feet summit in Capitol Reef National Park in Wayne County, Utah, United States. This iconic landmark is situated 0.5miles immediately north of the park's visitor center, towering nearly 800feet above the center and Utah State Route 24. Precipitation runoff from this feature is drained by tributaries of the Fremont River.
The uppermost portion of The Castle is composed of hard, jointed Wingate Sandstone, which is great for rock climbing, and is believed to have formed about 200 million years ago. This overlays the exposed gray-green layer of the Chinle Formation which was laid down as volcanic ash about 225 million years ago, and beneath Chinle is the Moenkopi Formation (about 245 million years old), all of which date to the Triassic.[2] Long after the 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.[3]
Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit The Castle. 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 10abbr=offNaNabbr=off of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.