Thousands of ancient ruins are scattered throughout the canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah. This ruin is unique due to the abstract patterns on the roof of the alcove above the structures as seen in this photograph. As water seeped through the sandstone layers in the ceiling of the alcove, it deposited its burden of salt in the small cracks in the rock. When these rocks fell away, the patterns were revealed. Archeologists can only speculate as to why the people who inhabited this region abandoned these sites around 1300 AD. Some have suggested that the exhaustion of local resources resulting from climate change exacerbated by overpopulation may have led to warfare and migration out of this region in favor of areas further south and east. This vertical photograph was captured with a 6x7 format camera. All photos in these fine art photo galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage.