Cerro Castellan is part of the Chisos Mountains where it is set in Big Bend National Park and the Chihuahuan Desert. The top of the butte is a caprock composed of Burro Mesa Rhyolite which formed 29 million years ago during the Oligocene period.[5] The next lower layer of volcanic rock is composed of Wasp Spring Tuff of the Burro Mesa Formation, followed by Chisos Tuff and Bee Mountain Basalt of the Chisos Formation.[6] Based on the Köppen climate classification, the mountain is located in a hot arid climate zone with hot summers and mild winters.[7] Any scant precipitation runoff from the peak's slopes drains to the Rio Grande which is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the southwest. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 1,000 feet (305 m) above Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive in one-half mile (0.8 km). The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on March 15, 1939, by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[4] The Spanish name Cerro Castellan may translate to "ruler of a castle on a hill,"[8] or "castle-warden's hill" where castellan is the caretaker of a castle.[9] The iconic landmark is also known as Castolon Peak, and the former village of Castolon took its name from the nearby butte.[8][10]
^Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN1027-5606.
^ abEdward Callary, Texas Place Names, University of Texas Press, 2020, ISBN9781477320662.
^Cerro Castellan, Texas State Historical Association, Retrieved 2024-11-10.
^Louis F. Aulbach, The Great Unknown of the Rio Grande, 2007, ISBN9780976521358, p. 21.
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