By Dario López-mills PHOENIX (AP) — Spanish explorers named them mesas, meaning tables, when they came upon them. But in geological terms, a mesa is simply a flat-topped mountain or hill. Millions of years of constant erosion — from the eternal forces of gravity and wind — have created the iconic mesas of the American Southwest. For Native Americans, the original inhabitants of these lands, the elevation of the mesas formed natural fortifications that provided vantage points and tall sides that were supposed to protect them from outside threats. They remain sacred landmarks with a deep spiritual connection. Old Oraibi, a Hopi village in Northern Arizona located on a mesa, is the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States dating to 1150. ___ LIKE SO MUCH American imagery, mesas…
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