Chip and Dale Towers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chip and Dale Towers |
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Chip and Dale Towers, east aspect
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,620 ft (1,710 m) |
| Prominence | 120 ft (37 m) |
| Isolation | 0.83 mi (1.34 km) |
| Geography | |
 Chip and Dale Towers
Location in Utah
Chip and Dale Towers
Location in the United States
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| Location | Canyonlands National Park San Juan County, Utah, U.S. |
| Parent range | Colorado Plateau |
| Topo map | USGS Musselman Arch |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Late Triassic |
| Type of rock | Wingate Sandstone |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1993, 1994 |
| Easiest route | class 5.9 climbing |
Chip and Dale Towers are two amazing sandstone towers located in Canyonlands National Park in Utah. They stand tall in a part of the park called the Island in the Sky District. These towers are named Chip Tower and Dale Tower.
Dale Tower is the taller of the two, reaching 5,620 feet (1,710 meters) high. Chip Tower is a bit shorter at 5,420 feet. These towers are made of a very hard rock called Wingate Sandstone. This rock formed from ancient sand dunes about 200 million years ago!
The towers are like a giant, eroded "fin" of rock. They sit above a softer rock layer called the Chinle Formation. You can reach the base of the towers by driving on the White Rim Road, which is a four-wheel drive path. From the road, the towers rise more than 1,000 feet in a short distance. Any rain that falls on Chip and Dale Towers flows into the nearby Colorado River.
Climbing These Towers
People who love to climb enjoy the challenge of Chip and Dale Towers. The first time someone successfully climbed Chip Tower was in October 1993. Jeff Widen and Jeff Singer made this first ascent. They climbed the south side of the tower using a route they called Stuffin Nuts.
Dale Tower was first climbed a year later, on October 2, 1994. Jeff Widen, Cameron Burns, and Jeff Singer were the first to reach its top. Their route was named Boy's Night Out.
The National Park Service sometimes closes these climbing routes. This is to protect important wildlife. They want to keep the area safe for baby desert bighorn sheep and for raptors (like eagles or hawks) when they are nesting. These closures usually happen from March through August.
Weather Around the Towers
The area where Chip and Dale Towers are found has a special type of weather called a cold semi-arid climate. This means it's a desert, but it can get quite cold in winter. The average temperature in the coldest month is below freezing.
This desert area doesn't get much rain, usually less than 10 inches (250 mm) each year. Most of the rain falls in spring and summer. Snowfall is usually light during the winter months.
