Series of towers made of Cutler sandstone capped with Moenkopi sandstone and caked with a stucco of red mud located near Moab, Utah. The Towers are world-renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic rock climbing routes

How to Get There

From Moab (25 miles): Head west on E Center St toward N Main St. Turn right onto US-191 N/N Main St. Continue to follow US-191 N. Turn right onto UT-128 E. Turn right onto Fisher Towers Rd.

Location

The nearest town is Moab, Utah about 16 miles (26 km) to the southwest. The area is generally accessed from Fisher Towers Road off of Route 128 which runs along the Colorado River between I-70 and Route 191. Castleton Tower is visible approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) to the southwest from different parts of the Fisher Tower's area.

The Towers lie just south of a larger mesa which they are emerging from on a geological time scale. 1,000 feet (300 m) north of the main formation there is a tower which has only partway emerged from the mesa. The Towers are composed of three major fins of rock that run from the northeast closer to the mesa out to the southwest and into a desert valley. The fins are between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 610 m) long and separated from each other by about 1,000 feet (300 m). Each fin contains multiple towers, a number of which have been named.

The easternmost section of the northernmost fin is dominated by a tower known as the King Fisher. The ridge line of the fin drops considerable before reaching the western formation called Ancient Arts. Ancient Arts is composed of four separate summits the most striking of which is the cork screw summit. The Middle fin is split into two very distinct towers known as Echo Tower in the east and Cottontail in the west. The southernmost fin is best known for containing the Fisher Towers with the greatest elevation and prominence, a structure named Titan Tower. The eastern portion of the southern fin is the less well known Oracle which physically connects back to the mesa.

Rock climbing

Development of Fisher Towers as climbing areas start in the early 1960s. The first notable technical climb was a route called the Finger of Fate, which summits Titan Tower and was later featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. The Towers are also very well known for the cork screw summit of the Ancient Arts tower, most commonly accessed by the Stolen Chimney route. Photographs of the unusual cork screw summit have been extensively published in many settings including mainstream advertisements.

In film

The Fisher Towers were featured in the opening scene of Austin Powers in Goldmember.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fisher Towers", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0