Holy Grail Temple

Last updated
Holy Grail Temple
Holy Grail Temple, Grand Canyon 2010.jpg
Southwest aspect, with Dox Castle, seen from South Bass Trail
Highest point
Elevation 6,711 ft (2,046 m) [1]
Prominence 1,199 ft (365 m) [1]
Parent peak King Arthur Castle (7,344 ft) [1]
Isolation 2.0 mi (3.2 km) [1]
Coordinates 36°16′30″N112°18′17″W / 36.2750519°N 112.3045998°W / 36.2750519; -112.3045998 Coordinates: 36°16′30″N112°18′17″W / 36.2750519°N 112.3045998°W / 36.2750519; -112.3045998 [2]
Geography
USA Arizona relief location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Holy Grail Temple
Location in Arizona
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Holy Grail Temple
Holy Grail Temple (the United States)
Location Grand Canyon National Park
Coconino County, Arizona, US
Parent range Kaibab Plateau
Colorado Plateau
Topo map USGS King Arthur Castle
Geology
Type of rock sandstone, siltstone, mudstone
Climbing
First ascent 1977
Easiest route class 5.8 climbing [1]

Holy Grail Temple is a 6,711-foot-elevation (2,046-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. [2] It is situated seven miles north-northeast of Havasupai Point, and two miles west-northwest of King Arthur Castle, within the Shinumo Amphitheater. Topographic relief is significant as it rises over 4,500 feet (1,400 meters) above the Colorado River in three miles. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Holy Grail Temple is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone, with precipitation runoff draining south to Shinumo Creek, which flows west to the Colorado River. [3]

Contents

History

W. W. Bass William Wallace Bass.jpg
W. W. Bass

Holy Grail Temple was originally named "Bass Tomb" in 1891 by Virginia Dox, for William Wallace Bass, who was Dox's guide into the Grand Canyon at this location. [4] [5] Impressed by her, Bass named nearby Dox Castle shortly after she left. [6] However, at the suggestion of the U.S. Geological Survey, Bass Tomb was renamed "Holy Grail Temple", for the Holy Grail of the Legend of King Arthur, in keeping with the naming theme for other geographical features in the vicinity, e.g. King Arthur Castle, Guinevere Castle , Elaine Castle , Excalibur , Gawain Abyss, Bedivere Point, Lancelot Point, and Galahad Point. [2] This feature's present name was officially adopted in 1908 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. [2]

When William W. Bass died in 1933, his ashes were scattered by plane atop this mountain as per his wishes. [5] Bass Canyon and the Bass Trails still retain his name within the Grand Canyon.

The difficult first ascent of the summit was made in 1977 by Larry Treiber and Bruce Grubbs. [7]

Holy Grail Temple in 1901 (Bass Tomb at that time) Holy Grail Temple 1901.jpg
Holy Grail Temple in 1901 (Bass Tomb at that time)

Geology

The summit spire is composed of cream-colored Permian Coconino Sandstone. This sandstone, which is the third-youngest stratum 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 the cliff-forming Mississippian Redwall Limestone, Cambrian Tonto Group, and finally Proterozoic Unkar Group at creek level. [8]

The actual small-spire summit is a capstone of Coconino Sandstone, on a small slope of Hermit Formation. This summit sits upon an extensive shelf of the Supai Group, specifically the highly resistant, and thick in western Grand Canyon, Esplanade Sandstone.

View northeast toward Shinumo Creek canyon and toward tilted strata of Neoproterozoic Bass Formation "island" of northeast-dipping Mesoproterozoic strata. Holy Grail Temple in upper right. View northeast toward Shinumo Creek canyon.jpg
View northeast toward Shinumo Creek canyon and toward tilted strata of Neoproterozoic Bass Formation “island” of northeast-dipping Mesoproterozoic strata. Holy Grail Temple in upper right.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evans Butte (Grand Canyon)</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Evans Butte is a 6,379-foot-elevation (1,944-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated at the north end of Sagittarius Ridge, three miles south-southwest of King Arthur Castle, and two miles southeast of Dox Castle. Topographic relief is significant as it rises over 4,100 feet above the Colorado River in 2.5 miles (4.0 km), and the north aspect rises 2,700 feet above Flint Creek in one mile. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Evans Butte is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone, with precipitation runoff draining west to the Colorado River via Shinumo Creek, Hotauta Canyon, and Monadnock Amphitheater. The butte is composed of Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group overlaying the cliff-forming Mississippian Redwall Limestone, and Cambrian Tonto Group. Evans Butte was climbed solo by Harvey Butchart on October 11, 1976, thereby making it the 76th of the 83 summits which he climbed in the Grand Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masonic Temple (Grand Canyon)</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Masonic Temple is a 6,242-foot-elevation (1,903-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. Set below Dutton Point on the Powell Plateau, and overlooking the Shinumo Amphitheater, it is situated three miles west of Holy Grail Temple, 2.7 miles northwest of Dox Castle, and 1.6 miles north-northeast of Fan Island. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 4,000 feet above the Colorado River in four miles (6.4 km). According to the Köppen climate classification system, Masonic Temple is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone, with precipitation runoff draining south to the Colorado River via Hakatai Canyon from the west aspect, Burro Canyon from the south aspect, and Muav Canyon from the east aspect. This butte is an erosional remnant composed of strata of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Supai Group overlaying the conspicuous cliffs of Mississippian Redwall Limestone, in turn overlaying the Cambrian Tonto Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Scenic Divide</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

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. 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 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. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Grand Scenic Divide is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinevere Castle</span> Landform in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Guinevere Castle is a 7,281-foot-elevation (2,219 meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated one-half mile southeast of King Arthur Castle, one mile west of Excalibur, and 2.5 miles northeast of Evans Butte, within the Shinumo Amphitheater. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 5,000 feet above the Colorado River in 4.5 miles, and 2,600 feet above Gawain Abyss in one mile. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Guinevere Castle is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone.

Elaine Castle is a 7,431-foot-elevation (2,265 meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated three miles north-northwest of King Arthur Castle near the head of Shinumo Creek, and immediately southwest of Lancelot Point. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 2,800 feet above Merlin Abyss in one mile. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Elaine Castle is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Holy Grail Temple – 6,711' AZ". Lists of John. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Holy Grail Temple". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  3. 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.
  4. Randy Moore and Kara Felicia Witt, The Grand Canyon: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture, 2018, ABC-CLIO Publisher, page 99.
  5. 1 2 Gregory McNamee, Grand Canyon Place Names, 1997, Mountaineers Publisher, ISBN   9780898865332, page 64.
  6. Lauren A. Wright and Bennie W. Troxel, Levi Noble: Geologist, 2002, USGS, page 8.
  7. John Annerino, Hiking the Grand Canyon, 2017, Simon & Schuster, ISBN   9781510714984, page 79.
  8. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917, page 69.
Holy Grail Temple is to the right in this famous painting by Thomas Moran.
"Chasm of the Colorado" (1873-74), a large canvas measuring 7 feet high by 12 feet wide, hung prominently in the US Capitol for over a half-century. Thomas Moran - The Chasm of the Colorado - L.1968.84.2 - Smithsonian American Art Museum.jpg
Holy Grail Temple is to the right in this famous painting by Thomas Moran.
"Chasm of the Colorado" (1873–74), a large canvas measuring 7 feet high by 12 feet wide, hung prominently in the US Capitol for over a half-century.