Solomon Temple
A limestone butte named for a king, seen from the rim near Desert View
About
Solomon Temple is one of the named buttes rising from the canyon floor between Moran Point and Desert View, visible from South Rim overlooks rather than a place you hike to. It tops out at 5,121 feet and climbs roughly 2,500 feet above the Colorado River in less than a mile, a wall of Redwall Limestone sitting over older Tonto Group shale. From Grandview Point, about 7,400 feet up along Desert View Drive, it stands out as one of the sharper-edged formations in the middle distance; it's also visible looking east from Desert View itself.
Naming
Like many of the canyon's isolated buttes, it carries a biblical name rather than a Native or Spanish one — geologist François Matthes named it for King Solomon, continuing the pattern Clarence Dutton started of naming these formations after mythological and historical figures. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names made it official in 1906.
- Best seen from Grandview Point or Desert View along Desert View Drive (SR 64)
- Not a maintained trail or summit route — viewed from the rim, not climbed
- Composed of Redwall Limestone over Tonto Group shale
Best Time to View It
Grandview Point and Desert View are accessible year-round, so timing follows your broader Desert View Drive itinerary.
Good to Know
- Geologist François Matthes named it for King Solomon, continuing the pattern Clarence Dutton started of naming these formations after mythological and historical figures; officially adopted in 1906.
- Not a maintained trail or summit route — viewed from the rim, not climbed.
- Also visible looking east from Desert View itself, offering a second angle on the formation.
Where to See Solomon Temple
Best seen from Grandview Point or Desert View along Desert View Drive (SR 64). From Grandview Point, about 7,400 feet up, it stands out as one of the sharper-edged formations in the middle distance.
What You're Looking At: Solomon Temple
Solomon Temple is one of the named buttes rising from the canyon floor between Moran Point and Desert View, visible from South Rim overlooks rather than a place you hike to. It tops out at 5,121 feet and climbs roughly 2,500 feet above the Colorado River in less than a mile, a wall of Redwall Limestone sitting over older Tonto Group shale.
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