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Devastating Beauty

Devastating wildfires have burned 70% of Mesa Verde National Park since it was established in 1906. Over 95% of these were started by lightning. Mesa Verde is prone to lightning strikes - receiving up to 100 in a 24-hour period during the summer. But despite its utter destruction, the forest here on Chapin Mesa is starkly beautiful.

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Filename: Dead-tree-fire-Mesa-Verde-8272.jpg
Copyright: Rozanne Hakala
Image Size: 3580x5372 / 18.4MB; forest Mesa Verde outdoors scenic burned USA Chapin Mesa culture juniper recovery clouds Mesa Verde National Park cliff dwellings wildfires Co tourist trees damage burn grass UNESCO Ancestral Puebloans devastation archeological sites Montezuma County World Heritage Site landscape Southwest green table scorched dead burnt Colorado charred renewal sky fires pinon tourism lifeless ancient Rozanne Hakala
Contained in galleries: COLORFUL COLORADO

Devastating wildfires have burned 70% of Mesa Verde National Park since it was established in 1906. Over 95% of these were started by lightning. Mesa Verde is prone to lightning strikes - receiving up to 100 in a 24-hour period during the summer. But despite its utter destruction, the forest here on Chapin Mesa is starkly beautiful.