The Three Patriarchs (formerly known as the Three Wise Men) is a set of three

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...

s on the west side of

Zion Canyon Zion Canyon (also called Little Zion, Mukuntuweap, Mu-Loon'-Tu-Weap, and Straight Cañon; ''weap'' is Southern Paiute, Paiute for canyon) is a deep and narrow gorge in southwestern Utah, Utah, United States, carved by the North Fork of the Virgin ...

Zion National Park Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a ...

in Washington 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 three main peaks were named by Frederick Fisher in 1916 for the biblical figures

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

and

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

. The Court of the Patriarchs is the cliff that runs along the south face of the Three Partiarchs.

Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit th Three Patriarchs. 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, it is located in a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below 32 °F (0 °C), 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:Zion View from Bridge Mountain.jpg,

, and

peaks from Bridge Mountain, November 2013 File:Three Patriarchs January 2011.jpg, Three Patriarchs in winter. The Sentinel,

Abraham Peak Abraham Peak is a tall rock formation in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States. Access to Abraham Peak is from the main Park road through Sand Beach Trail. Abraham Peak is the tallest of the three peaks that make the Th ...

and Isaac Peak, Mount Moroni, January 2011 File:Three Patriarchs, Zion Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah (1026077696).jpg,

, Isaac Peak, Mount Moroni, August 2007 File:Court of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Moroni.jpg, Three Patriarchs:

, Isaac Peak, Jacob Peak, and Mount Moroni, May 2015 File:Court of the Patriarchs from Above.jpg, Sunrise from Deertrap Mountain. Three Patriarchs centered down below. Mountain of the Sun foreground left, November 2016 File:Abraham Peak (6757020335).jpg, The morning light begins the thaw on Abraham Peak, the tallest of three peaks together known as Court of the Patriarchs, January 2012 File:Navajo Sandstone cliffs (Lower Jurassic), Pine Creek Canyon, Zion National Park, sw Utah 5.jpg, Jacob Peak, south aspect, June 2007

References

External links

Landforms of Washington County, Utah Landmarks in Utah Mountains of Utah Zion National Park {{Utah-geo-stub

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links