Bee Mountain (Texas)

Bee Mountain
North aspect
Highest point
Elevation3,460 ft (1,055 m)[1][2]
Prominence729 ft (222 m)[2]
Parent peakWillow Mountain (3,826 ft)[3]
Isolation2.18 mi (3.51 km)[3]
Coordinates29°20′33″N 103°32′25″W / 29.3426173°N 103.5403676°W / 29.3426173; -103.5403676[4]
Naming
EtymologyBee
Geography
Bee Mountain is located in Texas
Bee Mountain
Bee Mountain
Location of Bee Mountain in Texas
Bee Mountain is located in the United States
Bee Mountain
Bee Mountain
Bee Mountain (the United States)
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyBrewster
Parent rangeChristmas Mountains[2]
Topo mapUSGS Terlingua
Geology
Rock ageOligocene[5]
Mountain typeVolcanic plug[6]
Rock typeIgneous rock (basalt)[5]
Volcanic arcTrans-Pecos Volcanic Field

Bee Mountain is a 3,460-foot-elevation (1,055-meter) summit in Brewster County, Texas, United States.

Description

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Bee Mountain is set the Chihuahuan Desert less than two miles outside the boundary of Big Bend National Park where it is a landmark seen from Highway 118 which skirts the eastern base of the peak. The mountain is a soda microsyenite volcanic plug which formed 34 million years ago when it intruded three Late Cretaceous marine sedimentary formations which included the Boquillas Formation and the Pen Formation.[7] Bee Mountain is the type locality of the Bee Mountain Basalt member of the Chisos Formation which is prevalent in the Big Bend area.[5] Based on the Köppen climate classification, Bee Mountain is located in a hot arid climate zone with hot summers and mild winters.[8] Any scant precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains to the Rio Grande via Bens Hole Creek and Terlingua Creek.[2] Although modest in elevation, topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 860 feet (262 m) above Bens Hole Creek in 0.35 mile (0.56 km). The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names,[4] and has been listed in publications since at least 1904.[1] The name is attributed to native bees which would build their once numerous hives in crevices on the sides of the mountain before settlers eventually destroyed them to collect honey.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b A Gazetteer of Texas, Henry Gannett, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1904, p. 25.
  2. ^ a b c d "Bee Mountain, Texas". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  3. ^ a b "Bee Mountain - 3,452' TX". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  4. ^ a b "Bee Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  5. ^ a b c Geologic Unit: Bee Mountain, National Geologic Map Database, USGS, Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  6. ^ Bee Mountain, Study Butte, Brewster County, Texas, USA, Mindat.org, Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  7. ^ Droddy, Marvin Jr. Contact metamorphism of Cretaceous sedimentary rocks near the Bee Mountain intrusion, Brewster County, Texas, 1974, Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  8. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.
  9. ^ Bee Mountain, Texas State Historical Association, Retrieved 2024-11-16.
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