Checkerboard Mesa

Soon after entering the Zion park this crisscrossed mountain appears as a massive hill towering 900 feet above the highway. It resembles a giant, extended chess or checkerboard. The left to right deep scratches are due to a north to south wind direction, while the vertical cracks are a result of weathering, a cycle of freezing and thawing. After much confusion, during both the pre-trip preparations and while doing the post-trip editing and writing, Ken has concluded the location shown for Checkerboard Mesa is in error in many cases. Most of the on-line mapping information shows it within Zion Canyon (after the tunnel when westbound) but the time stamps on his pictures, the official park brochure, and satellite maps confirm it’s east of the tunnel and just past the park entry.