Double Mountain (Texas)

Double Mountain
Double Mountain, viewed from the south
Elevation	2580+ feet (786+ m) [1][2]
Prominence	540 ft (165 m) [1]
Location
Double Mountain Double Mountain's location in Texas
Location	Stonewall County, Texas, USA
Range	Plains of Central Texas[1]
Coordinates	33°03′44″N 100°27′15″W / 33.06222°N 100.45417°W / 33.06222; -100.45417Coordinates: 33°03′44″N 100°27′15″W / 33.06222°N 100.45417°W / 33.06222; -100.45417[3]
Geology
Type	Erosional remnant
Age of rock	Cretaceous (Comanche Series)[4]
Climbing
Easiest route	Drive/hike

Double Mountain is the name of a pair of flat-topped buttes located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Aspermont in Stonewall County, Texas.^[5] While the Handbook of Texas gives their elevation as either 2,000 ft (610 m)^[6] or 2,400 ft (732 m),^[5] United States Geological Survey maps give the elevation of the western mountain as 2,523 ft (769 m) ^[7] and that of the eastern mountain as between 2,580 ft (786 m) and 2,600 ft (792 m).^[1][2] Together, the mountains form part of the high ground dividing the watersheds of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork Brazos River.^[8]

Rising some 500–800 feet (150–250 m) above the surrounding plains,^[2][6] the higher eastern mountain is the highest point in Stonewall County^[5] and the most topographically prominent point for almost 160 miles (257 km), the nearest more prominent peak being Mount Scott in Oklahoma. As such an isolated geographical feature, the mountains are visible from a great distance, and feature commanding views from their tops.^[2]

Their prominence has long made them important regional landmarks,^[6] dating back at least to 1788, when Jose Mares opened a trail from San Antonio to Santa Fe; thereafter, the mountains were waymarkers "for every westward expedition and a rendezvous for buffalo hunters."^[8] They were also cited by the surveying party of Randolph B. Marcy in 1849.^[6]

Although paved roads do not lead directly to the mountains, they are accessible via paved Farm to Market Roads 2211 and 610 and dirt county roads; a steep dirt road leads up to the summit of each of the pair of mountains. A prominent radio tower stands on the eastern summit.^[2]

At one time, Comanche leader Quanah Parker and his band lived on or near the mountains,^[9] and according to one source, the mountains were once a sacred place to the Comanches.^[10]

Town of Double Mountain

A town of Double Mountain once existed a few miles north of the hills. Established in 1886, the community featured a post office, sheriff, schoolhouse, and Methodist and Baptist churches for several years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but had become a ghost town by the 1980s.^[11]

See also

• Geography of Texas
• Geology of Texas
• Brazos River
• Double Mountain Fork Brazos River
• Rath City, Texas
• Yellow House Canyon
• Blanco Canyon

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Double Mountains, Texas". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=6351. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Stonewall County High Point Trip Report". http://www.cohp.org/tx/Stonewall_1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
3. ^ "Double Mountains". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1334535. 
4. ^ Patton, L.T. 1930. The geology of Stonewall County, Texas. The University of Texas Bulletin No. 3027, 76 pp.
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Handbook of Texas Online — Stonewall County". http://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/hcs16.html. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Handbook of Texas Online — Double Mountain". http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/DD/rjd20.html. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
7. ^ "Double Mountain (in Stonewall County Texas) Place Profile". http://texas.hometownlocator.com/TX/Stonewall/Double-Mountain.cfm. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Hodge, Larry; Syers, Ed (2000). Backroads of Texas (4th ed.). Lanham, MD: Lone Star Books 
9. ^ "Quanah Parker - Biography of the Famous Leader". http://www.comanchelodge.com/quanahpg.html. Retrieved 2008-08-22. 
10. ^ "Brazos River Canyonlands - Double Mountain". http://brazosrivercanyonlands.com/narrative/doubleMountain.html. Retrieved 2008-08-22. 
11. ^ "Handbook of Texas Online — Double Mountain, TX". http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/DD/hvd52.html. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 

External links

• Photos of the Llano Estacado and West Texas