Vishnu Temple (Grand Canyon)

Vishnu Temple is a 7,533-foot-elevation (2,296 meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of Arizona, USA.[3] It is situated two miles south-southeast of the Cape Royal overlook on the canyon's North Rim, 1.5 mile south of Freya Castle, and two miles east-southeast of Wotans Throne, its nearest higher neighbor. It towers 4,900 feet (1,490 meters) above the Colorado River. According to explorer Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh, Vishnu Temple is "without doubt the most stupendous mass of nature's carving in the known world."[4]

Vishnu Temple is named for Vishnu, the Hindu deity, redeemer of the universe. This name was applied in 1880 by Clarence Dutton who thought this mountain resembled an oriental pagoda, and who began the tradition of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities.[5][6] This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1906 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.[3] The first ascent of the summit was made by Merrel Clubb and his son on July 13, 1945.[7] According to the Köppen climate classification system, Vishnu Temple is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone.[8]

Vishnu Temple
North aspect, from Angels Window Overlook
Highest point
Elevation7,533 ft (2,296 m) [1]
Prominence1,813 ft (553 m) [1]
Parent peakWotans Throne (7,740 ft)[2]
Isolation1.77 mi (2.85 km) [2]
Coordinates36°05′20″N 111°56′09″W [3]
Geography
Vishnu Temple
Vishnu Temple
LocationGrand Canyon
Coconino County, Arizona, US
Parent rangeKaibab Plateau[1]
Colorado Plateau
Topo mapUSGS Cape Royal
Geology
Type of rockCoconino Sandstone
Climbing
First ascent1945
Easiest routeclass 4 climbing[2]

Geology

The summit of Vishnu Temple is composed of cream-colored, cliff-forming, Permian Coconino Sandstone with a Kaibab Limestone cupola caprock.[9] 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.[10] Precipitation runoff from Vishnu Temple drains south into the Colorado River via Vishnu Creek on its west side, and Unkar Creek on the east side.

  • South aspect, from Tonto Trail
  • Vishnu Temple from Grandview Point
  • Vishnu Temple from Point Imperial
  • Aerial view of east aspect. (Wotans Throne behind)
  • South aspect, summit detail
  • Coconino Sandstone overlain by Kaibab Limestone summit
  • Vishnu Temple from Mather Point
  • Krishna Shrine (lower left), Vishnu Temple, Rama Shrine (right)

See also

References
  1. "Vishnu Temple, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  2. "Vishnu Temple - 7,533' AZ". Lists of John. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  3. "Vishnu Temple". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  4. Byrd H. Granger, Grand Canyon Place Names, 1960, University of Arizona Press Tucson, page 25.
  5. Dutton, Clarence E. (1882). The Tertiary History of the Grand Cañon District. Washington, DC, USA: Government Printing Office. p. 148. From p. 148: "The finest butte of the chasm is situated near the upper end of the Kaibab division; but it is not visible from Point Sublime. It is more than 5,000 feet high, and has a surprising resemblance to an Oriental pagoda. We named it Vishnu's temple."
  6. Randy Moore and Kara Felicia Witt, The Grand Canyon: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture, 2018, ABC-CLIO Publisher, page 151.
  7. John Annerino, 'Hiking the Grand Canyon", 2017, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 9781510714984
  8. 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.
  9. N.H. Darton, Story of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, 1917, page 58.
  10. William Kenneth Hamblin, Anatomy of the Grand Canyon: Panoramas of the Canyon's Geology, 2008, Grand Canyon Association Publisher, ISBN 9781934656013.
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