| Freya Castle | |
|---|---|
 North aspect, from Angels Window Overlook (Vishnu Temple upper right) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 7,288 ft (2,221 m)[1] |
| Prominence | 688 ft (210 m)[1] |
| Parent peak | Wotans Throne (7,740 ft)[2] |
| Isolation | 1.42 mi (2.29 km)[2] |
| Coordinates | 36°06′40″N111°56′11″W / 36.1111594°N 111.9364970°W /36.1111594; -111.9364970[3] |
| Geography | |
  Freya Castle  Freya Castle | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Coconino |
| Protected area | Grand Canyon National Park |
| Parent range | Kaibab Plateau[1] Colorado Plateau |
| Topo map | USGSCape Royal |
| Geology | |
| Rock type | Coconino Sandstone |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1962 |
| Easiest route | class 4climbing[2] |
Freya Castle is a 7,288-foot-elevation (2,221-meter) summit located in theGrand Canyon, inCoconino County of northernArizona,US.[3] It is situated one mile southeast of the Cape Royal overlook on the canyon's North Rim, 1.5 mile north ofVishnu Temple, and 1.7 mile northeast ofWotans Throne.Topographic relief is significant as it rises 3,400 feet (1,000 meters) above the Unkar Valley in one mile.
Freya Castle is named forFreya, theNorse goddess of love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, andseiðr.[3] This name was applied by geologistFrançois E. Matthes, in keeping withClarence Dutton's practice of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities.[4][5] This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1906 by theU.S. Board on Geographic Names.[3]
Thefirst ascent of the summit was made byHarvey Butchart and Allyn Cureton on June 24, 1962.[6] According to theKöppen climate classification system, Freya Castle is located in aCold semi-arid climate zone.[7]
The summit of Freya Castle is composed of cream-coloredPermianCoconino Sandstone.[8] The sandstone, which is the third-youngest of the strata in the Grand Canyon, was deposited 265 million years ago as sand dunes. Below the Coconino Sandstone is soft, slope-forming, PermianHermit Shale, which in turn overlays thePermian-Pennsylvanian-Supai Group. Further down are strata ofMississippianRedwall Limestone,CambrianTonto Group, and finallyProterozoicUnkar Group at creek level.[9] Precipitationrunoff from Freya Castle drains south into theColorado River via Vishnu Creek on its west side, and Unkar Creek on the east side.
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