|
North Franklin Mountain (or North Franklin Peak) is a mountain in the Franklin Mountains of El Paso, Texas, located in the Southwestern United States. North Franklin, at , is the highest point in El Paso, and the 27th-highest mountain in the state of Texas.〔(Texas Highest Named Summits )〕 Surrounded by a state park and with a maintained trail leading to its summit, the mountain is a popular hiking destination. North Franklin is located entirely within the city of El Paso, approximately east of the Texas–New Mexico border and north of the U.S.–Mexico border. The mountain is the highest of the Franklins, clipping nearby Anthony's Nose by just over and neighboring South Franklin by nearly . North Franklin rises above both its western base in the Mesilla Valley and its eastern base in the Hueco Bolson. In spite of its name, North Franklin is actually in the ''central'' Franklins, being the northernmost of the range's two key peaks (South Franklin, of course, is the other). To the south of these, the South Franklins include the peaks Mount Franklin and Ranger Peak〔 〕 (all of the television broadcast towers for El Paso are in the Southern Franklins). Like most of the Franklins, North Franklin Mountain is visible from many miles away. When observed from the east or west, North Franklin is shaped like a scalene triangle, with its long side facing its dome-shaped sister peak South Franklin Mountain. This quality makes it a valuable navigation point when traversing the desert areas around El Paso. == Geology == The Franklin Mountains are tilted-block fault mountains composed of sedimentary rocks, some of which date back to Precambrian times and are among the oldest in Texas. The mountains represent the southernmost tip of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S., and like the Rockies, were formed 60–70 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny.〔Robert Miles, "(Franklin Mountains )." ''The Handbook of Texas Online''. Retrieved: 1 April 2007.〕 The Precambrian rocks atop North Franklin Mountain represent "the highest geological structure in the state of Texas."〔D.V. LeMone, "(The Franklin Mountains of El Paso, Texas )." University of Texas-El Paso Department of Geology. Retrieved: 1 April 2007.〕 North Franklin gets its reddish color from the unusually high levels of oxidized iron in the volcanic rocks coating its summit and higher slopes.〔Michael Whitelaw, "(Geological Excursions To a Transmountain Precambrian Adventure )." University of Texas–El Paso Department of Geology. Retrieved: 1 April 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「North Franklin Mountain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|