Monitor and Merrimac Buttes along the Dead Horse Point Scenic Drive

The Monitor and Merrimac Buttes were 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 (the large rock on the left) was the Confederate ship, called the "Virginia" by the southern forces. The Monitor (on the 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.

Monitor Butte along the Dead Horse Point Scenic Drive on the way to Island in the Sky Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah, USA

Dead Horse Point Mesa Scenic Byway, Utah State Route 313

Lone Mesa, Merrimac Butte and Monitor Butte as seen from the Big Mesa Viewpoint on UT-313 in Grand County, Utah

Big Mesa Area, Grand County, Utah, USA

Big Mesa Area near Moab in Grand County, Utah, USA

Big Mesa Area, Moab, Utah

Mesa Arch on the eastern edge of the Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park

Early morning sunlight makes the under side of the Mesa Arch glow. In the background the snow-covered La Sal Mountiain Range

View through the glowing Mesa Arch towards the Washerwoman Arch in the center and the La Sal mountains in the distance

Mesa Arch, Island In the Sky, Canyonlands National Park

Georgeous view through the Mesa Arch over the canyons of the Colorado Rviver

Early monrning at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park

Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, USA

Side view of Mesa Arch in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA

Scenic view over Buck Canyon, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, with the La Sal mountain range in the distance

Washerwoman Arch in Buck Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Washerwoman Arch seen from Mesa Arch in Buck Canyon, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Washerwoman Arch in Buck Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Washerwoman Arch seen from Mesa Arch in Buck Canyon, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Washerwoman Arch in Buck Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Washerwoman Arch seen from Mesa Arch in Buck Canyon, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Mesa Arch on the eastern edge of the Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park

Scenic view from the Mesa Arch over Buck Canyon with the Washerwoman Arch in the center.

Island in the sky section of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA

Washerwoman Arch in Buck Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Aztec Butte at Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Rough rock landscape on the short hike up to the Upheaval Dome crater in Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah