Window Blind Peak 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 ...
located in the
San Rafael Swell
The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah, United States about west of Green River. Measuring approximately , the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that wa ...
of
Emery County,
Utah, U.S. Towering 1,800 feet above its surrounding terrain, it is the highest point of the Mexican Mountain Wilderness Study Area.
Ownership is administered by the
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...
. It is situated southeast of
Bottleneck Peak, south of
Assembly Hall Peak, and the nearest higher neighbor is Cedar Mountain, to the north-northeast.
Precipitation
runoff from this feature drains north into the nearby
San Rafael River
The San Rafael River is a tributary of the Green River, approximately long, in east central Utah, United States. The river flows across a sparsely populated arid region of the Colorado Plateau, and is known for the isolated, scenic gorge through ...
. 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 ...
of this peak was made September 23, 1973, by Jim Langdon, Dale Black, and Dave Palmer via the West Face.
Geology
This major erosional remnant along the San Rafael River is 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 (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch a ...
, overlain by
Kayenta Formation
The Kayenta Formation is a geological formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the Colorado Plateau area of the United States, including northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Originally suggested as being Sinemur ...
, and capped by
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
Navajo Sandstone.
[Mexican Mountain WSA, Utah BLM Statewide Wilderness Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Volume VI, East-Central Region, page 15.] Lightly-colored slopes of
Chinle Formation
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In ...
are exposed in places around the base of the mountain.
Climate
Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Window Blind Peak. 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.
See also
*
Geology of Utah
The geology of Utah, in the western United States, includes rocks formed at the edge of the proto-North American continent during the Precambrian. A shallow marine sedimentary environment covered the region for much of the Paleozoic and Mesozo ...
*
Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. This plateau covers an area of 336,700 km2 (130,000 mi2) within w ...
*
Gallery
File:Window Blind Peak sw.jpg, Southwest aspect centered. Viewed from Buckhorn Draw Road
File:Distant Window Blind Peak.jpg, North aspect of Window Blind Peak (centered) viewed from the Cedar Mountain Overlook.
File:Window Blind Peak geology.jpg, Window Blind Peak geology
References
{{reflist
External links
* Weather forecast
Window Blind Peak* Window Blind Peak rock climbing
Mountainproject.com* Window Blind Peak, North Rib
YouTube
Mountains of Utah
Landforms of Emery County, Utah
San Rafael Swell
Geology of Utah
Colorado Plateau
Protected areas of Emery County, Utah
Bureau of Land Management areas in Utah
Two-thousanders of the United States