Airport Tower is a tall sandstone

butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

located in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, in

San Juan County, Utah San Juan County ( ) is a county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 14,746. Its county seat is Monticello, while its most populous city is Blanding. The Utah State Legi ...

. It is situated 1.64 mile east of Washer Woman, which is a towering arch similar in height. Each are composed of

Wingate Sandstone The Wingate Sandstone is a geologic formation in the Glen Canyon Group of the Colorado Plateau province of the United States which crops out in northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Geology Wingate Sandstone is particularly ...

, which is the remains of wind-borne sand dunes deposited approximately 200 million years ago in the

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. ...

. The nearest higher neighbor is

Monster Tower Monster Tower is a tall sandstone tower located in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, in San Juan County, Utah, San Juan County, Utah, United States. Description The tower is situated 300 feet southeast of Washer Woman, ...

, to the west, Tiki Tower is one-half mile northwest, and Mesa Arch is situated to the west. A short hike to Mesa Arch provides the easiest view of Airport Tower. Access to this tower is via the four-wheel drive

White Rim Road The White Rim Road is a unpaved four-wheel drive road that traverses the top of the White Rim Sandstone formation below the Island in the Sky mesa of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah in the United States. The road was constructed in t ...

, which is another option to see Airport Tower. The top of this geological formation rises 1,400 feet above the road in less than one mile. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

from Airport Tower drains southeast into the nearby

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

via Buck and Lathrop Canyons. This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1986 by the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...

. It was so named because the rock formation resembles the appearance of an

airport control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

Climbing

The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of Airport Tower was made in July 1994 by Galen Howell, Sonja Paspal, and Steve Swanke, via ''Wind Shear'' (5.11, A1, 5 pitches). The second ascent was made in September 1995 by Mike Baker and Leslie Henderson via ''Sky Pilot'' (IV 5.9 A3). The first

free ascent An emergency ascent is an ascent to the surface by a diver in an emergency. More specifically, it refers to any of several procedures for reaching the surface in the event of an out-of-air emergency, generally while scuba diving. Emergency asc ...

of Airport Tower was made in 1998 by Bret Ruckman and Marco Corncchione via ''Wind Shear'' (), calling it a five-star route.North Amwerica, United States, Utah, Canyonlands National Park, Tristin's Tower, Airport Tower, Ascents americanalpineclub.org
/ref>

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Airport Tower. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, it is located in a

Cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below −0 °C (32 °F) and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. This desert climate receives less than of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.

Gallery

File:Canyonlands Airport Tower.jpg, Washer Woman and Airport Tower seen from the west at Mesa Arch Airport Tower, Canyonlands National Park.jpg, From the southwest File:Airport Tower - Canyonlands National Park, Utah.jpg, From the southwest File:Monster Tower Canyonlands.jpg, Washer Woman, Monster Tower, and Airport Tower seen from west File:Airport Tower and Island in the Sky (7257519158).jpg, Airport Tower (right) and Island in the Sky File:Airport Tower, from east.jpg, Airport Tower from the east (Monster Tower behind left) File:Campsites are marked with wooden posts. (d02069b4-f02b-4d41-9852-474b3a685352).jpg, From Airport Tower Campground File:Airport Tower star trails.jpg, Southeast aspect and star trails File:Airport Tower - panoramio.jpg File:Airport Tower, Tiki Tower, Canyonlands National Park.jpg, North aspect. ( Tiki Tower to right)

References

{{reflist

External links

Canyonlands National Park
National Park Service * Airport Tower weather forecast
National Weather Service
* Airport Tower from White Rim Road
YouTube
Landforms of San Juan County, Utah Colorado Plateau Canyonlands National Park Sandstone formations of the United States Buttes of Utah Rock formations of Utah

Climbing

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links