El Capitan | |
---|---|
![]() View from U.S. Highway 62/180 | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 8,064 ft (2,458 m)[1] |
Prominence | 285 ft (87 m)[2] |
Parent peak | Guadalupe Peak |
Coordinates | 31°52′38″N 104°51′29″W / 31.87722°N 104.85806°W[1] |
Geography | |
Culberson County, Texas, U.S. | |
Parent range | Guadalupe Mountains |
Topo map | Guadalupe Peak |
Geology | |
Age of rock | Permian |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | Hike |
El Capitan (Spanish: El Capitán) is a peak in Culberson County, Texas, located within Guadalupe Mountains National Park.[2] The 10th-highest peak in Texas at 8,085 ft (2,464 m), El Capitan is part of the Guadalupe Mountains, an exposed portion of a Permian period reef uplifted and exposed by tectonic activity during the late Cretaceous period.[3] The southern terminus of the Guadalupe Mountains, El Capitan looms over U.S. 62/180, where its imposing height and stark outline have made it one of the iconic images of the Trans-Pecos to generations of travelers.