
Agathla Peak, 7,100 ft above from sea level has a prominence of 1500 ft
'El Capitan', also called 'Agathla' by the
Navajo people, is a peak south of
Monument Valley,
Arizona, over 1500 feet (457 meters) high. It is a few miles north of
Kayenta and is visible from State Highway 163.
El Capitan is an
eroded volcanic neck consisting of
volcanic breccia cut by
dikes of an unusual igneous rock called
minette. It is one of many such volcanic
diatremes that are found in Navajo country of northeast Arizona and northwest New Mexico. El Capitan and
Shiprock in New Mexico are the most prominent. These rocks are part of the Navajo Volcanic Field, in the southern
Colorado Plateau. Ages of these minettes and associated more unusual igneous rocks cluster near 25 million years.
References
★ Baars, Donald L., 1995, ''Navajo Country'', University of New Mexico Press, pp. 78 - 83 ISBN 978-0-8263-1587-8
External links
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Pictures
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