Castle Rock (San Juan County, Utah)

Castle Rock is situated north-northeast of the Monument Valley Tribal Park Visitor Center, on Navajo Nation land. It is an iconic landform of Monument Valley and can be seen from Highway 163. Precipitation runoff from this landform's slopes drains into the San Juan River drainage basin. The first ascent of the summit was made on May 8, 1960, by Harvey T. Carter, Layton Kor, and John Auld. ==Geology==

Castle Rock is composed of three principal strata. The bottom layer is slope-forming Organ Rock Shale, the next stratum is cliff-forming De Chelly Sandstone, and the upper layer is Moenkopi Formation. The rock ranges in age from Permian at the bottom to Triassic at the top. The buttes and mesas of Monument Valley are the result of the Organ Rock Shale being more easily eroded than the overlaying sandstone. ==Climate==

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Castle Rock. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a semi-arid climate zone with cold winters and hot summers. Summers average 54 days above annually, and highs rarely exceed . Summer nights are comfortably cool, and temperatures drop quickly after sunset. Winters are cold, but daytime highs are usually above freezing. Winter temperatures below are uncommon, though possible. This desert climate receives less than of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter. ==Gallery==

File:RF-8G Crusaders of VFP-206 in Monument Valley 1985.jpg|West aspect of Castle Rock File:Monument Valley 17.jpg|Southwest aspect File:Monument Valley (14001960020).jpg|L→R: King-on-his-Throne, Stagecoach, Bear and Rabbit, Castle Rock File:Monument Valley (14001932809).jpg|L→R: Brighams Tomb, King-on-his-Throne, Stagecoach, Bear and Rabbit, Castle Rock File:Forrest Gump Point Monument Valley November 2018 003.jpg|Castle Rock left, Brighams Tomb to right, view southwest from Highway 163.Forrest Gump was here. (culmination of cross-country running scene) File:Long Road to Monument Valley U.S. Route 163.jpg|Castle Rock left, Brighams Tomb to right File:Monument Valley, Utah, US - panoramio.jpg|Castle Rock left, Brighams Tomb to right File:Brighams Tomb and Castle Rock.jpg|South aspect of Brighams Tomb (centered) and Castle Rock (right) viewed from North Window Overlook File:Outside Monument Valley (50172888653).jpg|Brighams Tomb (left), Castle Rock (center), Big Indian (right) File:Monument Valley, AZ (48566079876).jpg|L→R: Brighams Tomb, King-on-his-Throne, Stagecoach, Bear and Rabbit, Castle Rock File:Over Monument Valley, Navajo Nation - 3814237949.jpg|Aerial view File:Monument Valley, Az Hwy 163N (5946972439).jpg File:Stagecoach - Monument Valley.jpg|Stagecoach, Bear and Rabbit, Castle Rock (right) ==See also==