Nature
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King-on-his-Throne is a prominent butte in Monument Valley on Navajo Nation land in southern Utah, named for a silhouette said to resemble a king seated on a throne and facing south across the valley. Visible from Highway 163, it rises sharply above the surrounding ground, giving it an especially abrupt profile among the valley’s landmarks. Its form reflects two Permian rock layers: softer Organ Rock Shale below and harder De Chelly Sandstone above, an erosional contrast that helped shape Monument Valley’s buttes and mesas. Runoff from its slopes enters the San Juan River basin, and its first recorded ascent came in 1967.
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Utah · United States
