Wotans Throne

Wotans Throne is a 7,721-foot-elevation (2,353 meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of Arizona, USA.[3] It is situated one mile immediately southwest of the Cape Royal overlook on the canyon's North Rim, 1.7 mile west-southwest of Freya Castle, two miles west-northwest of Vishnu Temple, and five miles east of Zoroaster Temple. It rises 5,200 feet (1,585 meters) above the Colorado River.

Wotans Throne is named for Wotan, the supreme Germanic deity. This name was applied by geologist François E. Matthes, in keeping with Clarence Dutton's practice of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities.[4] This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1906 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.[3] According to the Köppen climate classification system, Wotans Throne is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone.[5]

Wotans Throne
Northeast aspect, from Cape Royal Overlook
Highest point
Elevation7,721 ft (2,353 m) [1]
Prominence596 ft (182 m) [1]
Parent peakSiegfried Pyre (7,922 ft)[2]
Isolation7.04 mi (11.33 km) [2]
Coordinates36°06′17″N 111°57′37″W [3]
Geography
Wotans Throne
Wotans Throne
LocationGrand Canyon
Coconino County, Arizona, US
Parent rangeKaibab Plateau[1]
Colorado Plateau
Topo mapUSGS Cape Royal

Geology

The wooded top of Wotans Throne is composed of 700-feet-thick Kaibab Limestone overlaying 300-feet-thick, cream-colored, cliff-forming, Permian Coconino Sandstone.[6] The sandstone, which is the third-youngest of the strata in the Grand Canyon, was deposited 265 million years ago as sand dunes. Below the Coconino Sandstone is slope-forming, Permian Hermit Formation, which in turn overlays the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group. Further down are strata of Mississippian Redwall Limestone, Cambrian Tonto Group, and finally Proterozoic Unkar Group at creek level.[7] Precipitation runoff from Wotans Throne drains south to the Colorado River via Vishnu Creek on its east side, and Clear Creek on the west side.

  • At sunset from Cape Royal
  • South aspect
  • Wotans Throne, with Angels Gate in front blending in
  • Wotans Throne left of center with Vishnu Temple to right, seen from South Rim
  • Wotans Throne (centered), from South Rim at sunset
  • From Cape Royal
  • Wotans Throne (left) and Angels Gate from west
  • From the south. Left to right: Angels Gate, Wotans Throne, Newberry Butte, and Vishnu Temple

See also

References
  1. "Wotans Throne, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  2. "Wotans Throne - 7,740' AZ". Lists of John. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  3. "Wotans Throne". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  4. Stephen J. Pyne, Fire on the Rim, 1989, University of Washington Press, page 130.
  5. 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.
  6. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917, page 46.
  7. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917, page 46.
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