Checkerboard Mesa

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Checkerboard Mesa

| photo = Checkerboard Mesa, Zion N.P. UT - panoramio.jpg

| photo_caption = North aspect, viewed from Highway 9

| elevation_ft = 6520

| elevation_ref = {{cite peakbagger|27594|Checkerboard Mesa, Utah}}

| prominence_ft = 520

| prominence_ref =

| isolation_mi = 0.55

| isolation_ref = {{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/21743|title=Checkerboard Mesa - 6,680' UT|website=listsofjohn.com|accessdate=2020-09-09}}

| parent_peak = Crazy Quilt Mesa (6,760 ft)

| part_type = Protected area | part = Zion National Park

| country = United States

| state = Utah

| region = Kane

| region_type = County

| map = Utah#USA

| map_caption = Location in Utah

| map_size = 230

| label_position = top

| coordinates = {{coord|37.215553|N|112.880181|W|type:mountain_region:US-UT_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| range = Colorado Plateau

| coordinates_ref =

| topo = USGS Springdale East

| rock = Navajo sandstone

| age = Jurassic

| first_ascent =

| easiest_route = {{YDS|2}} scrambling

}}

Checkerboard Mesa is an iconic {{convert|6520|ft|-1|abbr=on|disp=preunit|+}} elevation Navajo Sandstone summit located in Zion National Park, in Kane County of southwest Utah, United States.{{gnis|1426546|Checkerboard Mesa}} Checkerboard Mesa is situated immediately southwest of the park's east entrance, towering {{convert|900|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above the Zion – Mount Carmel Highway. Its nearest neighbor is Crazy Quilt Mesa, one-half mile immediately west, and separated by Checkerboard Mesa Canyon. This canyon holds pools of rainwater which provide a vital source of water for resident bighorn sheep.Scott Turner, "Hike the Parks: Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks", 2019, The Mountaineers Books. This peak was originally named Checkerboard Mountain by the park's third superintendent, Preston P. Patraw.[https://web.archive.org/web/20170221025443/https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/upload/Zion%20Centennial%20Newspaper%201909-2009.pdf National Park Service nps.gov/zion] The landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1935 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The descriptive name stems from the cliff's distinctive multitudinous check lines in cross-bedded white sandstone which give the impression of a checkerboard. The horizontal lines are caused by cross-bedding, a remnant of ancient sand dunes. The vertical and sub-vertical lines formed by the contraction and expansion of the sandstone caused by temperature changes, freezing and thawing cycles, in combination with wetting and drying. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into tributaries of the Virgin River.