Merrimac Butte is a sandstone summit located in Grand County,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, about 12 miles northwest of the town of

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

. Merrimac Butte is a thin, 200–600-foot-wide and 1,600-foot-long east-to-west

butte 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 table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

with 200-foot-tall vertical

Entrada Sandstone The Entrada Sandstone is a formation (geology), formation in the San Rafael Group found in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona, and southeast Utah. Part of the Colorado Plateau, this formation was deposi ...

walls overlaying a

Carmel Formation The Carmel Formation is a geologic formation in the San Rafael Group that is spread across the U.S. states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, north east Arizona and New Mexico. Part of the Colorado Plateau, this formation was laid down in the Middle Ju ...

base. Monitor Butte is situated immediately east of Merrimac Butte. The two buttes were named after the ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

'' and '' Merrimack'', two ironclad steamships known for clashing during the American Civil War. They can be seen from Highway 313 after it climbs out of Sevenmile Canyon en route to the Island in the Sky section of

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is a national park of the United States located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green Rive ...

Dead Horse Point State Park Dead Horse Point State Park is a state park in San Juan County, Utah in the United States, featuring a dramatic overlook of the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park. The park opened to the public in 1959 and covers of high desert at an ...

Climbing Routes

Climbing Routes on Merrimac Butte * ''Ascent Into the Maelstrom'' - - 3 pitches * ''Hypercrack on the Anchor Chain'' - - 2 pitches * ''Hypothetical Route'' - - 1 pitch * ''Keel Hauling'' - - 3 pitches * ''Merrimac Butte, The Albatross'' - - 2 pitches * ''Without A Net'' - - 3 pitches The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

was made September 22, 1985, by Jimmy Dunn, John Bouchard,

Eric Bjornstad Reginald Munger Sullivan "Eric" Bjornstad (1934–2014) was an American climber and author, and poet noted for his many climbs in the desert southwest as well as climbs in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguou ...

, and Lin Ottinger via "Hypercrack on the Anchor Chain." "Without a Net" is the least difficult climb on Merrimac Butte and the first ascent of this route was made in April 1991 by Charlie Fowler and Sue Wint.Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest: Colorado and Utah, author: Cameron Burns, publisher: The Mountaineers, First Edition 1999, page 125.

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to see Merrimac and Monitor Buttes, when highs average 60 to 80 °F and lows average 30 to 50 °F. Summer temperatures often exceed 100 °F. Winters are cold, with highs averaging 30 to 50 °F, and lows averaging 0 to 20 °F. As part of a high desert region, it can experience wide daily temperature fluctuations. The area receives an average of less than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain annually.

References

Monitor and Merrimac buttes near Canyonlands

External links

{{commons category, Merrimac Butte * Merrimac and Monitor buttes from Hwy 313
PBase photo
* Weather forecast
Merrimac Butte
Buttes of Utah Rock formations of Utah Sandstone formations of the United States One-thousanders of the United States

Climbing Routes

Climate

See also

References

External links