evidence: Several periods of uplift and erosion occurred after the Laramide Orogeny. This back and forth sequence created the present topography seen today at Mesa Verde. [...] Contents: cuesta, alcoves, seep springs, solution rills, concretions, desert varnish, turtle back weathering, loess, ripple marks, popcorn texture, faults and landslides. The first Spanish explorers to the area called it Mesa Verde, or "green table." This expression is actually a misnomer. The correct geological term for the area is a cuesta, not a mesa. Mesas are isolated, flat-topped highlands with steeply sloping sides or cliffs, and are topped by a cap of much harder rocks that are resistant to erosion. The cap protects the softer underlying slopes or cliffs from being quickly weathered away. The only difference between a cuesta and a mesa is that a cuesta gently dips in one direction. Mesa Verde is inclined slightly to the south at about a seven degree angle. This cuesta is made up of many separate, smaller "mesas" situated between the canyons. Although technically we should call the park "Cuesta Verde," convention dictates that we use the term "mesa" when describing the area. [...] Places to view solution rills: Solution rills can be seen in a niche at Sun Temple on the Mesa Top Loop and at the House of Many Windows Overlook.