Capitol Butte is a

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

Yavapai County, Arizona Yavapai County ( ) is a County (United States), county near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county s ...

, United States.

Description

Capitol Butte is located three miles immediately northwest of Sedona in the

Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness The Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness is a 47,195-acre (19,099 ha) wilderness area located within the Coconino National Forest in the United States, U.S. state of Arizona.

, on land managed by

Coconino National Forest The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre (751,000 ha) United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff, with elevations ranging from 2,600 feet to the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (H ...

. The nearest higher neighbor is Lost Wilson Mountain 3.1 miles (5 km) to the north-northeast. Precipitation runoff from this feature drains to Oak Creek which is part of the

Verde River The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona. Description The ri ...

watershed.

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the summit rises over above West Sedona in 0.6 mile (1 km). Capitol Butte is composed of light-colored

Coconino Sandstone The Coconino Sandstone is a geologic formation (geology), formation composed of light-colored quartz arenite of Aeolian processes, eolian origin. It erodes to form conspicuous, sheer cliffs in the upper walls of Grand Canyon, as part of the Mog ...

overlaying reddish

Schnebly Hill Formation The Schnebly Hill Formation is a section of red bed deposits found at the Colorado Plateau, near Sedona, Arizona. It is a dark red sandstone, from to thick. It lies between Coconino Sandstone and the older Hermit Formation. It is near the Supa ...

Etymology

The landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1971 by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

.United States Board on Geographic Names, ''Decisions on Geographic Names in the United States'', Decision List No. 7102, 1971, page 1. It is unknown how the butte came to be called "Capitol," however it does resemble a capitol dome in appearance. Previous variant names for the landform included Capital Butte, Gray Mountain, Grayback Mountain, and Judge Oteys Tombstone. Locals call it "Thunder Mountain."Bruce Grubbs, ''Best Easy Day Hikes Sedona'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2019, , p. 79.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Capitol Butte is located in a temperate

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 se ...

zone. Climbers can expect afternoon rain and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.

Gallery

File:Sedona in Arizona - 2013-09-17.jpg, South aspect of Capitol Butte rises above Sedona File:Capitol Butte Aka Thunder Mountain Sedona Az (260022477).jpeg, Capitol Butte to left File:Mitten Ridge, Sedona.jpg, East aspect (left) File:Sedona's Capitol Butte.jpg, South aspect

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Capitol Butte
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Capitol Butte , North = Secret Canyon , Northeast =

Oak Creek Canyon Oak Creek Canyon is a river gorge located in northern Arizona between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. The canyon is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon because of its scenic beauty. State Route 89A enters the canyon on ...

, East =

Coconino County Coconino County is a County (United States), county in the North Central Arizona, North-Central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff, Arizon ...