The
mesa is located on the
Colorado Plateau near
Kayenta, Arizona, and rises to over . Its highest peak is located on Black Mesa's northern rim, a few miles south of the town of Kayenta. Reliable springs surfacing at several locations mean the mesa is more suitable for continuous habitation than much of the surrounding desert area. It is now split between the
Hopi and Diné (
Navajo) tribal reservations. Black Mesa is also the name of a small Navajo community off BIA-8066, which lies 17 miles west of
Rough Rock, 20 miles north of
Blue Gap and 25 miles northeast of
Pinon. In the area is a local Chapter House and a community school. The mesa is located within, and gives its name to, the
Black Mesa Basin.
Mining . Since the 1960s the mesa has been
strip mined for coal by the
Peabody Western Coal Company, stirring a
controversy over Peabody Energy's use of groundwater to transport coal. In 2013, the
Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), collaborating with the Black Mesa Water Coalition, held their first national gathering in opposition to the strip mining of the mesa. The gathering had an attendance of 100 members. ==See also==