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Day 10, Canyonlands National Park: Monitor and Merrimac
These two buttes tower 600 feet above their Navajo Sandstone base and can be seen from many points along the highway. The Monitor and the Merrimac are named after the Civil War ironclad ships of the same names. If you look at a likeness of the old ships, their shapes bear a striking resemblance to these two buttes. The Merrimac, on the left, was the Confederate ship, called the "Virginia" by the southern forces. The Monitor (right) was the Union ship sent to destroy the Merrimac. The resulting sea battle changed maritime warfare forever. Long after both ships lie on the sea bottom, their rock counterparts remain locked in perpetual battle. |
