Square Butte (Arizona)

{{Short description|Landform in Coconino County, Navajo Nation, Arizona}}

{{Infobox mountain

|name = Square Butte

|other_name = Tsé Dikʼání

|photo = Square Butte Arizona.jpg

|photo_caption = Southeast aspect

|elevation_ft = 7140

|elevation_ref = {{cite web |url = https://listsofjohn.com/peak/72023 |title = Square Butte - 7,140' AZ |website = Lists of John |access-date = December 12, 2020 }}

|prominence_ft = 400

|prominence_ref =

|isolation_mi = 1.76

|isolation_ref =

|parent_peak = White Mesa

|map = Arizona#USA

|map_caption = Location in Arizona

|map_size = 230

|label_position = bottom

|location = Navajo Reservation
Coconino County, Arizona, U.S.

|range = Colorado Plateau

|coordinates = {{coord|36.6044418|N|110.9265322|W|type:mountain_region:US-AZ_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

|range_coordinates =

|coordinates_ref = {{cite gnis |id = 11721 |name = Square Butte |access-date = December 12, 2020 }}

|topo = USGS Square Butte

|rock = Entrada Sandstone

|age = Jurassic

|first_ascent =

|easiest_route =

}}

Square Butte is a {{convert|7140|ft|m|adj=mid|-elevation}} sandstone summit located on Navajo Nation land, in Coconino County of northern Arizona. It is situated 35 miles (56 km) southeast of the town of Page, and {{convert|9|mi|km|spell=in}} east of Kaibito, where it towers over {{convert|700|ft|m}} above the surrounding terrain as a landmark alongside Arizona State Route 98. Square Butte is known as Tsé Dikʼání in Navajo language, meaning "square rock."William Bright, Native American Placenames of the Southwest, University of Oklahoma Press, 2013. Its nearest higher neighbor is White Mesa, {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} to the south. Precipitation runoff from Square Butte drains to northwest into Square Butte Wash or northeast into Potato Canyon, then ultimately Lake Powell, all part of the Colorado River drainage basin. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Square Butte is located in an arid climate zone with hot, very dry summers, and chilly winters.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}} Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit. The top of Square Butte is composed of Entrada Sandstone including the Cow Springs Member, and it overlays Carmel Formation, all of which was deposited in the Jurassic period.Donald L. Baars, A Traveler's Guide to the Geology of the Colorado Plateau, 2002, University of Utah Press, page 210.