Checkerboard Mesa, Zion National Park

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This photo was shot at the Zion National Park in Southern Utah, during the July 4th (U.S.) holiday week. This mountain sits on the less traveled far East side of the park, right along the Mount Carmel Highway. Known officially as the Checkerboard Mesa it’s made up of Navajo sandstone that forms many of the spectacular cliffs within the park’s boundaries. With a thickness of around 2,200 feet it consists almost entirely of desert sand dunes. As you can see in the photo there are two sets of lines that form an easily viewed checkerboard pattern.