The Folded Strata of Raplee Ridge

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Naturally eroded geometric chevrons and colorful rock strata on Raplee Ridge.

Abstract Patterns of Raplee Ridge in Utah

When you’re driving through southern Utah near Mexican Hat, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the massive vistas. But if you stop and look at Raplee Ridge, sometimes called Indian Blanket, with a long lens, the landscape completely changes. It stops being just a giant wall of rock and turns into this incredible, repeating zigzag pattern. I wanted to shoot this by completely stripping away the horizon and the sky, forcing the eye to focus entirely on the tight geometry of the terrain.

To pull this off, you need a tight crop to compress the perspective. It flattens the ridge out, making the massive hillside look almost like a graphic pattern. The bright orange and ochre siltstone bands slice cleanly through the lighter limestone and shale. There’s no photoshop trickery here; it’s just the raw result of millions of years of tectonic folding and erosion, showing off some of the best natural geometry the Southwest has to offer.

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