Casa Grande Peak is a mountain
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 ...
in
Brewster County, Texas
Brewster County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat (and only city) is Alpine, Texas, Alpine. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region, and b ...
, United States.
Description
Casa Grande Peak is located in
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topograph ...
and the
Chisos Mountains
The Chisos Mountains, also known as the Chisos, are a mountain range located in the Big Bend, Texas, Big Bend area of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, United States. The mountain system covers 40 square miles (104 square km) and is contained enti ...
. It ranks as the fifth-highest peak in this park, mountain range, and county, but only the 26th-highest in Texas.
[ The peak is an extra-caldera vent, or volcanic dome, of the Pine Canyon caldera which formed about 32–35 million years ago during a period of volcanic activity.''Scientific Investigations Map 3142'']
United States Geological Survey, 2010. Although modest in elevation,
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 2,000 feet (610 m) above Chisos Basin in less than . Based on 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 ...
, Casa Grande Peak is located in a
hot arid climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
zone with hot summers and mild winters.
Any scant precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
watershed and the lower slopes of the peak are covered by juniper, oak, and piñon. "Casa Grande" is Spanish for "big house." The mountain is so named because it resembles a large castle, and the toponym was officially adopted in 1939 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 ...
.
See also
*
List of mountain peaks of Texas
*
Geography of Texas
The geography of Texas is diverse and large. Occupying about 7% of the total water and land area of the U.S., it is the second largest state after Alaska, and is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which end in the south against the folde ...
Gallery
File:Casa Grande Peak from Chisos Basin Visitors Center.jpg, Casa Grande Peak viewed from Chisos Basin Visitors Center
File:Casa Grande in Big Bend National Park.JPG
File:Gfp-texas-big-bend-national-park-summit-on-the-trail.jpg
File:Casa Grande from Basin Campground.JPG, Northwest aspect
File:Casa Grande Peak and Vernon Bailey Peak.jpg, Casa Grande Peak (left) and Vernon Bailey Peak
Vernon Bailey Peak is a summit in Brewster County, Texas, United States.
Description
Vernon Bailey Peak is located in the Chisos Mountains. It ranks as the 12th-highest peak in Big Bend National Park and 77th-highest in Texas. The mountain is ...
(right)
File:Big Bend National Park PB122700.jpg, Southwest side of Casa Grande
References
External links
* Casa Grande Peak
Weather forecast
{{Portal bar, Mountains, Geography, Texas
Mountains of Texas
Two-thousanders of the United States
Landforms of Brewster County, Texas
Big Bend National Park
Volcanoes of Texas