{{Short description|Sandstone pillar in Mesa County, Colorado, United States}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Kissing Couple | other_name = | image = Kissing Couple, Colorado National Monument, US.jpg | image_caption = Southeast aspect | elevation_ft = 5815 | elevation_ref = <ref name="listsofjohn">{{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/6538|title=Kissing Couple - 5,815' CO|website=listsofjohn.com|accessdate=2021-03-21}}</ref> | prominence_ft = 305 | prominence_ref = <ref name="listsofjohn"/> | isolation_mi = 2.28 | isolation_ref = <ref name="listsofjohn"/> | parent_peak = Black Ridge<ref name="listsofjohn"/> | map = Colorado#USA | map_caption = Location in Colorado | map_size = 230 | label_position = right | country = United States | state = Colorado | region = Mesa | region_type = County | part_type = Protected&nbsp;area | part = Colorado National Monument | range = Colorado Plateau<br/>Uncompahgre Plateau | coordinates = {{coord|39.0891483|N|108.7181544|W|type:mountain_region:US-CO_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = <ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|id=174530|name=Kissing Couple|accessdate=2021-03-21}}</ref> | topo = USGS ''Colorado National Monument'' | rock = Wingate Sandstone | age = Late Triassic to Early Jurassic<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/colm/learn/nature/geologic-formations.htm Geologic Formations, National Park Service]</ref> | first_ascent = 1960 | easiest_route = {{YDS|5.11a}} climbing<ref name="listsofjohn"/> }}

'''Kissing Couple''' is a {{convert|5,815|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} sandstone pillar located in Colorado National Monument, in Mesa County of western Colorado, United States.<ref name="gnis"/> This iconic 400-foot-high tower is situated on the west side of Monument Canyon, 1.5 mile southeast of the monument's visitor center, and {{convert|9|mi|spell=in}} west of the community of Grand Junction. It is also a half-mile south-southeast of another popular climbing destination, Independence Monument, and both can be seen from viewpoints along Rim Rock Drive. It is so named because it resembles an embracing couple.<ref name="gnis"/> This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1982 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.<ref name="gnis"/> Older USGS maps have the feature's name misplaced by about one-half mile to the southeast. The first ascent of the summit was made May 4, 1960, by Layton Kor, Harvey Carter, and John Auld via the five pitch, {{YDS|5.11a}} route named ''Long Dong Wall''.<ref name="Cameron Burns 1999">Cameron Burns, ''Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest: Colorado and Utah'', 1999, Mountaineers Books, {{ISBN|9780898866575}}, page 34.</ref><ref>[https://www.deserttowersbook.com/first-ascent-timeline First Ascent Timeline, deserttowersbook.com]</ref> The first free ascent was made in 1977 by Andy Petefish, Tom Stubbs, and Jim Pearson.<ref name="Cameron Burns 1999"/><ref>[https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105750316/long-dong-wall-aka-bell-tower Long Dong Wall (aka Bell Tower), Mountainproject.com]</ref> Some climbers alternatively refer to Kissing Couple as "Bell Tower."<ref>Stewart M. Green, 2010, ''Rock Climbing Colorado A Guide to More Than 1,800 Routes'', Falcon Guides, {{ISBN|9780762763443}}, page 468.</ref>

==Geology== This tower is the remnant of a differentially eroded fin composed primarily of cliff-forming Wingate Sandstone, which consists of wind-borne, cross-bedded quartzose sandstones deposited as ancient sand dunes approximately 200 million years ago in the Late Triassic. The thin caprock at the summit consists of fluvial sandstones of the resistant Kayenta Formation. The slope around the base of the Kissing Couple is Chinle Formation.<ref>Stanley William Lohman, ''The Geologic Story of Colorado National Monument'', Geological Survey Bulletin 1508, pages 28-30.</ref> The floor of the canyon is Precambrian basement rock consisting of gneiss, schist, and granites. The tower has a small natural arch which formed from an enlarged vertical joint. Precipitation runoff from this geographical feature drains to the Colorado River, approximately three miles to the northeast.

==Climate== According to the Köppen climate classification system, Kissing Couple is located in a semi-arid climate zone.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}}</ref> Summers are hot and dry, while winters are cold with some snow. Temperatures reach {{convert|100|°F|0}} on 5.3 days, {{convert|90|°F|0}} on 57 days, and remain at or below freezing on 13 days annually. The months April through October offer the most favorable weather to visit.

==Gallery== <div style="max-width: 500px;"> <gallery mode=slideshow> File:Kissing Couple and Monument Canyon.jpg|Southeast aspect from Rim Rock Drive File:Monument Canyon View, Eastward.jpg|West aspect from Rim Rock Drive File:Kissing Couple in distance.jpg File:Scenes from Rimrock Drive in Colorado National Monument 2.jpg|Independence Monument (left) and Kissing Couple (right) File:Colorado National Monument - Kissing Couple.jpg File:Climbers on Kissing Couple.jpg|Climbers on Kissing Couple File:Egypt Rock, Kissing Couple, Grand View Spire.jpg|Egypt Rock (left), Kissing Couple (center), Grand View Spire (right) seen from Monument Canyon Trail File:Kissing Couple detail.jpg|Kissing Couple detail File:Colorado National Monument aerial.jpg|Aerial view with Kissing Couple lower right File:Colorado National Monument, Kissing Couple.jpg </gallery> </div>

==See also== * List of rock formations in the United States * Pipe Organ * Coke Ovens

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * Weather forecast: [https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.0892&lon=-108.7183#.YFgQRdKSmUk National Weather Service] * Kissing Couple rock climbing: [https://www.mountainproject.com/area/108059192/kissing-couple-area Mountainproject.com]

Category:Colorado Plateau Category:Landforms of Mesa County, Colorado Category:Colorado National Monument Category:One-thousanders of the United States Category:Sandstone formations of the United States Category:Rock formations of Colorado Category:Geologic formations with imbedded sand dunes Category:Climbing areas of Colorado