Mesas, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

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The viewpoint here is near the park entrance at 38^o 27' 09" N, 109^o 49' 11" W, looking east.

Readers of the classic comic strip Calvin and Hobbes should find Canyonlands very familiar, since Canyonlands scenery obviously inspired Calvin's extraterrestrial fantasy landscapes. This view looks southeast back toward Moab, Utah. The high cliffs are Entrada Sandstone. The road in the lower left is the same road as the one visible on the canyon floor. It eventually reaches the Colorado River (visible in the far distance) and goes on to Moab. Although it looks intimidating from this vantage point, the road (the Shafer Trail Road) is usually perfectly passable by ordinary cars and is one of the great scenic drives in the United States.

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Original Scene

(author's image)

Possible Coloring

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Created 04 February 2008, Last Update 15 January 2020