Earth:Three Gossips

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Short description: Natural rock formation in Utah, US

Three Gossips
East aspect
Highest point
Elevation4,700 ft (1,433 m) [1]
Prominence240 ft (73 m) [1]
Parent peakThe Organ (4,735 ft)[1]
Isolation0.28 mi (0.45 km) [1]
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 38°38′09″N 109°36′11″W / 38.6358142°N 109.6031740°W / 38.6358142; -109.6031740 [2]
Geography
Three Gossips is located in Utah
Three Gossips
Three Gossips
Location in Utah
Three Gossips is located in the United States
Three Gossips
Three Gossips
Three Gossips (the United States)
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
CountyGrand
Protected areaArches National Park
Parent rangeColorado Plateau[3]
Topo mapUSGS The Windows Section
Geology
Age of rockJurassic
Type of rockEntrada Sandstone[4]
Climbing
First ascent1970
Easiest routeclass 5.7 climbing[1]

The Three Gossips is a 4,700-foot-elevation (1,433-meter) sandstone pillar in Grand County, Utah, United States.

Description

Three 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

The 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]
Argon Tower (left) and Three Gossips (right)

Access

The 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]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Three Gossips - 4,700' UT". https://listsofjohn.com/peak/24275. Retrieved 2024-09-07. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Three Gossips". United States Geological Survey. https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1433486. 
  3. ↑ "Three Gossips, Utah". http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=65976. 
  4. ↑ Pages of Stone, Lucy Chronic, The Mountaineers Books, 2004, ISBN 9781594853180.
  5. ↑ The Geologic Story of Arches National Park, Stanley William Lohman, US Geological Survey, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975.
  6. ↑ The Three Gossips, United States Geological Survey, August 1, 2023
  7. ↑ “The Three Gossips”, Summitpost.com, August 1, 2023, https://www.summitpost.org/the-three-gossips/154843
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ First Ascent Timeline, deserttowersbook.com, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  10. ↑ Lyon Trautner Route, Mountain Project, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  11. ↑ Be There or Be Talked About, Mountain Project, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  12. ↑ Speak No Evil, Mountain Project, Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  13. ↑ North America, United States, Utah, Arches National Park, Eric BjØrnstad, 1995, americanalpineclub.org
  14. ↑ The Three Gossips, Getting There, Summitpost.com, August 1, 2023



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