Castleton Tower

Castleton Tower (Castle Rock)
South Face of Castleton Tower viewed from the approach. In the background to the left is a rock formation commonly known as The Rectory and/or The Priest and Nuns.
Highest point
Elevation	6,660 feet (2,030 m)  NAVD 88
Prominence	1,496 ft (456 m)
Coordinates	38°39′05″N 109°22′04″W / 38.651373°N 109.3678942°W / 38.651373; -109.3678942Coordinates: 38°39′05″N 109°22′04″W / 38.651373°N 109.3678942°W / 38.651373; -109.3678942
Geography
Castleton Tower (Castle Rock)
Location	Grand County, Utah, U.S.
Topo map	Fisher Towers

Castleton Tower is a 400-foot (120 m) Wingate Sandstone tower standing on a 1,000 foot Moenkopi-Chinle cone above the northeastern border of Castle Valley, Utah. The Tower is world-renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic rock climbing routes, the most famous of which is the Kor-Ingalls Route featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. Castleton Tower can be accessed by a trail that begins south of the tower at a primitive camp ground.

Castleton Tower sits at the southern terminus of a ridge made mostly of red sand, gravel, scatter boulders, and few short cliff lines. The ridge that runs north to south for about 2,800 feet (850 m) at its high point. Castleton Tower (~40'x400') shares the ridge with a structure at the ridge's Northern terminus with a similar height but considerable larger area known as The Rectory (~200'x1000'). This second structure is also referred to as The Priest and Nuns although those names are more often applied to specific structures connected to or contained in The Rectory. The nearest town is Moab, Utah about 10 miles (16 km) to the southwest and the area is generally accessed from Castleton Road off of Route 128 which runs along the Colorado River between I-70 and Route 191. The La Sal Range and the Manti-La Sal National Forest is visible to the Southeast, The Fisher Towers are visible to the Northeast, and the Colorado River with its associated cliffs lies to the Castleton 's Northwest.

Among the most popular rock climbing destinations in the world, Castleton Tower has been summitted by thousands. Climbing historian Stewart Green reports that the number of successful ascents is over 40,000 and there have been so many that "no one really knows how many folks have reached the summit." The first ascent was completed September 16, 1961 by Layton Kor and Huntley Ingalls. Their route of ascent is still one of the most popular and carries their name, the Kor-Ingalls Route, and is rated 5.9. Today there are named routes of ascent on every aspect of the tower.