![Hey, Colorado, Is it ‘In’ Orchard Mesa or ‘On’ Orchard Mesa?](https://townsquare.media/site/507/files/2017/01/Orchard_Mesa_-_Google_Maps-2.png?w=980&q=75)
Hey, Colorado, Is it ‘In’ Orchard Mesa or ‘On’ Orchard Mesa?
This is the most pressing question you'll be asked all day. Do you say, "on Orchard Mesa" or "in Orchard Mesa"?
If you're not familiar with Orchard Mesa --we're sure you know, but for those who don't-- it's an unincorporated community adjacent to Grand Junction. If you've driven south through Grand Junction, you've definitely passed through it.
![95 Rock logo](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/KKNNFM.png?w=100)
We have employees who live in Orchard Mesa, and they always refer to anything there "on Orchard Mesa." But isn't it a place? Like, you wouldn't say, "on Grand Junction," would you.
The definition of a mesa is, "a land formation, less extensive than a plateau, having steep walls and a relatively flat top and common in arid and semiarid parts of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico."
According to the folks that live there, Orchard Mesa is a mesa due to the steep wall overlooking the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. Not quite a mesa, but for our purposes, why not.
Now, if we take a look at what a community is, "a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage." Wouldn't you live in a community?
Not having answered my own question, I'm going to leave it up to you. How do you refer to Orchard Mesa?
To be honest, there really isn't a correct answer, is there?
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