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Shiprock thrust up from the surrounding New Mexico desert without warning . It ’s no curiosity this abrupt landform is the center field of a Navajo legend need a jumbo bird that turned to gem — it ’s out of the question to look at the sheer cliffs without wondering what make them .
A new eyeshot of Shiprock from space offer a few confidential information . Leading toward the rugged John Rock formation in San Juan County is a dark dike , a part of the vent that make the 1,969 - animal foot - tall ( 600 meters ) drop-off formation .
Shiprock, a stunning rock formation in New Mexico, stands out even from space. This image was taken 26 February 2025, by an instrument aboard NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite.
The formation is on Navajo Nation land and is bang as Tse Bit’a’i , or " winged rock " in Navajo , according to theNew Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources(NMBGMR ) . Legend holds that the rock was Earth that became a bird and stockpile the Navajo people to the desert on its back , settling down and turning to stone again after the journey , accord toAtlas Obscura . Navajo tradition holds that people should not go up or raise up the rock , so they have been closed to recreation since the 1970s . [ terra firma from Above : 101 arresting Images from Orbit ]
Geologically , Shiprock originated from a volcanic eruption about 30 million year ago , allot to the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources . At the time , the rocks were up to 3,280 feet ( 1,000 m ) below the dry land and formed the " neck " of a part of volcanic stone that has otherwise eat away away . The formation is made from a K - rich magma called " minette , " according to the bureau , and is to a great extent fractured into a type of angulate fragmented rock call breccia . While the surrounding rock has gnaw at away , Shiprock and some of its accompany lava dyke remain .
The new figure of Shiprock was taken by the Operational Land Imager onNASA ’s Landsat 8 planet on April 12 , 2017 .
Original clause on Live Science .
