Franklin Butte

{{Infobox mountain

|name = Franklin Butte

|other_name =

|photo = Franklin Butte, Valley of the Gods.jpg

|photo_caption = Northwest aspect

|elevation_ft = 5179

|elevation_ref ={{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/23929|title=Franklin Butte - 5,179' UT|website=listsofjohn.com|access-date=2024-08-31}}

|prominence_ft = 359

|prominence_ref =

|isolation_mi = 0.71

|isolation_ref =

|parent_peak = Battleship Rock (5,422 ft)

|map = Utah#USA

|map_caption = Location in Utah

|map_size = 230

|label_position = top

|location = Valley of the Gods
San Juan County, Utah, U.S.

|range = Colorado Plateau

|coordinates = {{coord|37.2865935|N|109.8269084|W|type:mountain_region:US-AZ_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

|coordinates_ref ={{cite gnis|id=1428083|name=Franklin Butte|access-date=2024-08-31}}

|topo = USGS Cigarette Spring Cave

|rock = Sandstone

| age = Permian

|type = Butte

|first_ascent = 1990

|easiest_route = {{YDS|5.9}} climbing

}}

Franklin Butte is a {{convert|5179|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States.

Description

Franklin Butte is situated {{convert|15|mi|km}} west of Bluff, Utah, in the Valley of the Gods, on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management.[https://www.blm.gov/visit/valley-gods Valley of the Gods], Bureau of Land Management, Retrieved 2024-08-31. Precipitation runoff from this iconic landform's slopes drains to the San Juan River via Lime Creek. Access to the butte is via the 17-mile Valley of the Gods Road which passes near this butte. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises nearly {{convert|400.|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above the surrounding terrain in 0.1 mile (0.16 km). This landform's toponym has been officially adopted as Franklin Butte by the United States Board on Geographic Names. It is also known as "Sitting Hen" by some rock climbers, however this should not be confused with nearby Setting Hen Butte. The first ascent of the summit was made in 1990 by John Middendorf and Melissa Wruck.[https://www.deserttowersbook.com/first-ascent-timeline First Ascent Timeline], deserttowersbook.com, Retrieved 2024-08-31.

File:Valley of the Gods, Franklin Butte.jpg to left.]]

Geology

Franklin Butte is composed of two principal strata of the Cutler Formation. The bottom layer is slope-forming Halgaito Formation and the upper stratum is cliff-forming Cedar Mesa Sandstone.Robert Brett O'Sullivan, Geology of the Cedar Mesa-Boundary Butte Area, San Juan County, Utah, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965, p. 34. Cedar Mesa Sandstone is the remains of coastal sand dunes deposited about 270 to 300 million years ago, during the Wolfcampian (early Permian).{{cite journal |last1=Baars |first1=D.L. |title=Permian System of Colorado Plateau |journal=AAPG Bulletin |date=1962 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=149–218 |doi=10.1306/BC74376F-16BE-11D7-8645000102C1865D}} The buttes of Valley of the Gods are the result of the Halgaito Formation being more easily eroded than the overlaying sandstone. The valley floor is Honaker Trail Formation.[https://books.google.com/books?id=5f4oCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64&dq=honaker+trail+formation+valley+of+the+gods&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjljrKI556IAxWHJTQIHXDQLDAQuwV6BAgFEAY#v=onepage&q=honaker%20trail%20formation%20valley%20of%20the%20gods&f=false Dan S. Chaney, The Carboniferous-Permian Transition], New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 2013, p. 64.

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Franklin Butte. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone with cold winters and hot summers.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |name-list-style=amp | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 |issue=5 | pages = 1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P |s2cid=9654551 | issn = 1027-5606|doi-access=free }} Summers highs rarely exceed {{convert|100|°F|°C}}. Summer nights are comfortably cool, and temperatures drop quickly after sunset. Winters are cold, but daytime highs are usually above freezing. Winter temperatures below {{convert|0|°F|°C}} are uncommon, though possible. This desert climate receives less than {{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=off|sp=us}} of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.