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The Monitor and Merrimac are two buttes towering 600 ft. above the Utah desert. They were named after their resemblance to the two Civil War ironclad ships whose epic naval battle forever changed maritime warfare.
Merrimac Butte is the larger of the two. It’s between 200 and 600 feet wide and 1,600 feet long. It stands about 200 feet high, at an elevation of 5,627 feet. The butte is named after the USS Merrimack, which was converted into a Confederate warship, the CSS Virginia. Monitor Butte is just to the east. It’s named for the USS Monitor.
Visiting Monitor and Merrimac
The buttes are visible on the way to both the Island in the Sky district at Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. A pullout along the road allows for the best views. There are interpretive panels at the pullout for more information.
For the more adventurous and physically active, there are also bike trails in the area that get closer to them. There are also a few different climbing routes for Merrimac Butte. The best seasons to get up close to the buttes are spring and fall. Temperatures in the summer can be extremely hot while winters can bring very cold weather.
