Grand Scenic Divide
North aspect
Highest point
Elevation5,667 ft (1,727 m)[1]
Prominence87 ft (27 m)[1]
Parent peakFossil Mountain (6,729 ft)[1]
Isolation1.04 mi (1.67 km)[1]
Coordinates36°12′18″N 112°21′24″W / 36.2050822°N 112.3566503°W / 36.2050822; -112.3566503[2]
Geography
Grand Scenic Divide is located in Arizona
Grand Scenic Divide
Grand Scenic Divide
Location in Arizona
Grand Scenic Divide is located in the United States
Grand Scenic Divide
Grand Scenic Divide
Grand Scenic Divide (the United States)
LocationGrand Canyon National Park
Coconino County, Arizona, US
Parent rangeCoconino Plateau
Colorado Plateau
Topo mapUSGS Havasupai Point
Geology
Type of rocksandstone, limestone, shale
Climbing
Easiest routeclass 2 hiking

Grand Scenic Divide is a 5,667-foot-elevation (1,727-meter) ridge located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, Southwestern United States.[2] It is situated immediately north of Fossil Mountain, and 1.5 mile east of Mount Huethawali. Surrounded by Bass and Serpentine Canyons, topographic relief is significant as it rises over 3,400 feet (1,000 meters) above the nearby Colorado River in 1.5 mile. It is composed of strata of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group. Further down are strata of the cliff-forming Mississippian Redwall Limestone, and Cambrian Tonto Group.[3] According to the Köppen climate classification system, Grand Scenic Divide is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone.[4] The normal approach to the ridge is made via the South Bass Trail, and from the top the view includes Masonic Temple, Holy Grail Temple, Dox Castle, King Arthur Castle, Evans Butte, Sagittarius Ridge, and Scorpion Ridge.

Etymology

The Grand Scenic Divide is so named because it is here where the Grand Canyon markedly changes in geologic and scenic character. To the east are the isolated towers, buttes, temples, and side canyons which are the essence of its visual appeal, and to the west an absence of such striking scenery.[5] This natural line of demarcation also happens to be where the granite of the inner gorge disappears, such that buttes did not form once the river flowed only through the sedimentary rocks.[6] This geographical feature's name was applied by William Wallace Bass, and later officially adopted in 1932 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.[2][7]

Dick Pillar

Dick Pillar is a red sandstone pinnacle at the northeast tip of Grand Scenic Divide.[8] It is unofficially named after Scottish geologist Robert Dick, whose work contributed to the progress of understanding Grand Canyon rock.[9]

1903 postcard of Dick Pillar seen from Grand Scenic Divide

See also

References

Grand Scenic Divide centered in bullseye,
from the southwest at Bass Trail
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Grand Scenic Divide - 5,667' AZ". Lists of John. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Grand Scenic Divide". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  3. ↑ N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917, page 69.
  4. ↑ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.
  5. ↑ George Wharton James, In and Around the Grand Canyon, 1900, Little, Brown, and Company, page 95.
  6. ↑ George Wharton James, The Grand Canyon of Arizona How to See It, 1910, Little Brown and Company, page 59.
  7. ↑ George Wharton James, In and Around the Grand Canyon, 1900, Little, Brown, and Company, p. 95.
  8. ↑ Byrd H. Granger, Grand Canyon Place Names, 1960, University of Arizona Press Tucson, page 10.
  9. ↑ George Wharton James, In and Around the Grand Canyon, 1900, Little, Brown, and Company, p. 96.
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