Aztec Butte is a sandstone summit, elevation , located in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, in San Juan County, Utah. Aztec Butte is composed of white cross-bedded Navajo Sandstone, which is the remains of wind-borne sand dunes deposited approximately 170 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. It resembles the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, which was built by the Aztecs.Stewart M. Green, Best Easy Day Hikes Moab, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2020, pake 115.
Ancestral Puebloan people traveled to the Island in the Sky area to hunt and gather seeds, then stored their food in stone granaries near the top of Aztec Butte. These well-preserved granaries date to AD 1200–1300.Greg Witt, 50 Best Short Hikes: Utah's National Parks, 2nd ed., 2014, Wilderness Press, page 99. A half-mile hiking trail through flat grassland, followed by a quarter-mile scramble with 200 feet vertical gain, leads to the top of the butte and the granaries. The trailhead is located alongside the road to Upheaval Dome. In addition to Upheaval Dome, other nearby attractions include Mesa Arch which is situated less than to the southeast, Muffin Butte to the south, Green River Overlook to the southwest, and Trail Canyon to the north. Precipitation runoff from Aztec Butte drains to the Green River.
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Climate Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Aztec Butte. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below −0 °C (32 °F) 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 Colorado Plateau Geology of the Canyonlands area
References
External links
Canyonlands National Park National Park Service Aztec Butte: weather forecast