Tour Stop | Checkerboard Mesa

Checkerboard Mesa

Image Credits: Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

About

We’re now approaching the most remarkable feature of East Zion—the Checkerboard Mesa. It’s coming up on our right. While the Checkerboard Mesa Canyon trail begins here, the best viewpoint is a little further up on our left, past the mesa. Best viewed from a distance, the white sandstone bears criss-crossed or “checkerboard” bands on its face.

So what causes these distinct hatch marks across the mesa? The vertical lines come from expansion and contraction of the sandstone, caused by heating and cooling under the desert sun. The horizontal cracks are actually caused by wind erosion. Pull into the small parking area coming up on our left to get a good view of the Checkerboard Mesa.

Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Checkerboard Mesa

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