The Three Gossips is a 4,700-foot-elevation (1,433-meter) sandstone pillar in Grand County, Utah, United States.
| Three Gossips | |
|---|---|
 East aspect | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,700 ft (1,433 m)[1] |
| Prominence | 240 ft (73 m)[1] |
| Parent peak | The Organ (4,735 ft)[1] |
| Isolation | 0.28 mi (0.45 km)[1] |
| Coordinates | 38°38′09″N 109°36′11″W / 38.6358142°N 109.6031740°W[2] |
| Geography | |
  Three Gossips Location in Utah  Three Gossips Three Gossips (the United States) | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Grand |
| Protected area | Arches National Park |
| Parent range | Colorado Plateau[3] |
| Topo map | USGS The Windows Section |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Jurassic |
| Rock type | Entrada Sandstone[4] |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1970 |
| Easiest route | class 5.7 climbing[1] |
Description
editThree Gossips is located within Arches National Park and it is an iconic rock feature visible from the main park road at the Courthouse Towers area. Like many of the rock formations in the park, it is composed of Entrada Sandstone which formed between 180 and 140 million years ago.[5][6] The tower is 350 feet tall,[7] and topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 500 feet (152 meters) above surrounding terrain in 0.15 miles (0.24 km). Precipitation runoff from Three Gossips drains to the nearby Colorado River via Courthouse Wash. The pillars were named for the shape of the rock which resembles three heads talking amongst themselves.[8] This landform's descriptive toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[2] This landform was shown briefly in the opening scene credits of the 1989 American action adventure film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Climbing
editThe first ascent of the summit was made in October 1970 by Allen Steck and Steve Roper via the class 5.11 West Face.[9]
Other rock-climbing routes on Three Gossips:
- Lyon Trautner Route - class 5.10 - Charles Lyon, Todd Trautner - (1981)[10]
- Be There or Be Talked About - class 5.11 - Pete Gallagher, Bego Gerhart - (1988)[11]
- Speak No Evil - class 5.10 - Duane Raleigh, Lisa Raleigh - (1994)[12]
- The Crystalline Entity - class 5.9 - David Evans, Tom Sherman, Margy Floyd - (1994)[13]
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Access
editThe formation can be seen from Courthouse Towers viewpoint and can be accessed through a short hike down into a large wash towards the east side of the pillars.[14]
Climate
editAccording to the Köppen climate classification system, Three Gossips is located in a cold semi-arid climate zone with cold winters and hot summers.[15] Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to experience Arches National Park, when highs average 60 to 80 °F (15 to 25 °C) and lows average 30 to 50 °F (0 to 10 °C). Summer temperatures often exceed 100 °F (40 °C). Winters are cold, with highs averaging 30 to 50 °F (0 to 10 °C), and lows averaging 0 to 20 °F (−20 to −5 °C). As part of a high desert region, it can experience wide daily temperature fluctuations. The park receives an average of less than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain annually.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Three Gossips - 4,700' UT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ a b "Three Gossips". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ "Three Gossips, Utah". Peakbagger.com.
- ^ Pages of Stone, Lucy Chronic, The Mountaineers Books, 2004, ISBN 9781594853180.
- ^ The Geologic Story of Arches National Park, Stanley William Lohman, US Geological Survey, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975.
- ^ The Three Gossips, United States Geological Survey, August 1, 2023
- ^ “The Three Gossips”, Summitpost.com, August 1, 2023, https://www.summitpost.org/the-three-gossips/154843
- ^ Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the USA: All 63 Parks from Maine to American Samoa, Fodor's Travel, 2021, ISBN 9781640974623.
- ^ First Ascent Timeline, deserttowersbook.com, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ Lyon Trautner Route, Mountain Project, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ Be There or Be Talked About, Mountain Project, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ Speak No Evil, Mountain Project, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ North America, United States, Utah, Arches National Park, Eric BjØrnstad, 1995, americanalpineclub.org
- ^ The Three Gossips, Getting There, Summitpost.com, August 1, 2023
- ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606. S2CID 9654551.
External links
edit
- Weather: Three Gossips
- The Three Gossips Rock Climbing: Mountainproject.com
- Arches National Park: National Park Service
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