Totem Pole (Monument Valley)
| Totem pole | ||
|---|---|---|
.jpg) Yei Bi Chei and Totem Pole (right) |
||
| height | 1713 m | |
| location | Arizona , USA | |
| Mountains | Colorado Plateau | |
| Dominance | 0.92 km → nameless mesa | |
| Notch height | 116 m | |
| Coordinates | 36 ° 55 '45 " N , 110 ° 2' 51" W | |
|
||
| Type | Rock needle | |
| First ascent | Mark Powell, Jerry Gallwas, Don Wilson and Bill Feuerer on June 13, 1957 | |
The Totem Pole ( English totem pole ) is a striking rock needle in Monument Valley in the US state of Arizona . The hard rock made of sandstone achieved particular fame as a film set and, along with the Mitten Buttes and the Three Sisters, is one of the most famous formations in the park. The Navajo Nation forbids any climbing in its area, including all other rocks in Monument Valley.
Location and surroundings
The Totem Pole is located on the southeastern edge of Monument Valley Tribal Park in Navajo County in northern Arizona. It and the subsequent formation Yei Bi Chei can be reached from the visitor center near US 163 via an approximately 11 km long unpaved sand track , which is the only part of the area that non-Navajo may drive.
To the northwest lie the Sand Springs, a depression made by drifting sand , and the Big Chair rock structure ; to the east, the plateau is largely open and flat. The state line with Utah runs 5 miles north and the county line runs 4 miles east of the pole. In Arizona, there is another rock spire called Totem Pole in Lower Devil's Canyon near Queen Creek, about a seven-hour drive away.
geology
The Totem Pole and the neighboring rock formations are made of the red sandstone that gives the area its unique character. The multifarious rocks are hardened rocks that have been formed by wind and water over millions of years . The Totem Pole, which was particularly marked by the erosion, towers over the surrounding area by 137 m and is surrounded by a rubble cone with a diameter of 150 m. A number of other monoliths (Yei Bi Chei) runs in a semicircle in a south-easterly direction to a nameless, bone-shaped table mountain ( Spanish mesa ).
Culture and media
The rock needle was first climbed between June 11th and 13th, 1957 by Mark Powell, Jerry Gallwas, Don Wilson and Bill "Dolt" Feuerer. The team of four had to struggle with strong wind and rain. The following year, at the insistence of the local Navajo, Monument Valley Tribal Park was set up and climbing on all rocks was prohibited. The San Juan Band Paiute , who hunted and collected in the area around 1300, attributed supernatural powers to the imposing landscape . The totem Pole, for example, was seen as a deity petrified by a lightning strike.
One of the last climbing permits was granted to a Hollywood film crew in 1975 . Clint Eastwood , director and leading actor of the thriller On behalf of the Dragon , climbed the Totem Pole with supporting actor George Kennedy . The fact that the two actors actually made it to the extreme is made clear in the film by a shot from the bird's eye view . Previously, the route had to be developed by professional climbers Eric Bjørnstad and Ken Wyrick. In addition, were stuntmen and three climbing cameramen in the development of the scene involved. In total, the crew spent 14 days on the pole and the rock faces in its vicinity during the shooting and freed them of all rocks and bolts after the shooting, as required by the Navajo Council . According to Bjørnstad, who dubbed the rock needle “the thinnest, tallest sandstone tower in the world”, the film expedition was the fifth ascent.
Previously the Totem Pole was shown several times in feature films, including the John Ford - Western The Searchers (1956), How the West Was Won (1962) and Cheyenne (1964). In Stanley Kubrick's science fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the rock needle can be seen on the edge of a false color image during the psychedelic travel experience of astronaut Dave Bowman .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Totem Pole (Lower Devil's Canyon). Mountain Project, accessed August 9, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Carolyn O'Bagy Davis & Harvey Leake: Kayenta and Monument Valley. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston 2010, ISBN 978-0-7385-8630-4 , p. 13. Google preview , accessed on August 9, 2019.
- ↑ Chris Van Leuven: The high-adventure draw of desert tower climbing. Adventure Sports Network, June 1, 2017, accessed August 9, 2019 .
- ^ William L. Chenoweth: Road log of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Utah and Arizona. In: Utah Geological Association Publication 29 (2000), PB Anderson & DA Sprinkel (Eds.). Online PDF , accessed on August 9, 2019.
- ^ Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Desert USA. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Eric Bjørnstad: North America, United States, Arizona, Totem Pole, Monument Valley. American Alpine Club , 1976, accessed August 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Matt Wanat & Leonard Engel (ed.): The Films of Clint Eastwood - Critical Perspectives. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque 2018, p. 41. Google preview , accessed August 9, 2019.
- ^ Monument Valley in the movies. CBS News , accessed August 9, 2019 .