Black Mesa - Kenton, OK
Posted by: 
The Snowdog
N 36° 55.913 W 102° 59.871
13S E 678312 N 4089188
Black Mesa, the highest point in the state, is described in the WPA Guide to 1930s Oklahoma - near Kenton, Oklahoma.
Waymark Code: WM15AM7
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2021
Views: 3
"Right from Kenton on an improved dirt road to a junction with a second dirt road leads to Black Mesa, a plateau capped by lava deposits from an extinct volcano. The lava cap, underlaid with Dakota sandstone, ranges from twenty to seventy feet in thickness and extends some forty miles into Oklahoma from the New Mexico line. In the center of the mesa is the highest point in Oklahoma, 4,987 feet above sea level, designated by a marker of lava fragments and concrete, and topped with a piece of rose-colored granite from the quarry at Granite. The summit of this almost mile-high plateau was formerly a camping place for Indians; many arrowheads have been found here."
From The WPA Guide to 1930s Oklahoma, 1941, p. 252
The old high-point marker has since been replaced by a modern rock monument. There is also a NGS survey disk at the monument. The Black Mesa Trail begins at N 36 57.430 W 102 57.420. There is ample parking and a restroom but no potable water, so make sure you bring plenty of your own. The trail is eight and a half miles, round trip. While most of the walk is relatively flat and smooth, the third quarter of the trail is rugged and steep. There are benches at the 1-, 2-, and 3-mile marks as well as at the monument. Wildlife is abundant here, including mountain lions, bobcats, and rattlesnakes, so be careful!
Book: Oklahoma
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 252
Year Originally Published: 1941
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