Hurricane Mesa, Summit and test facility in Washington County, United States

Hurricane Mesa is a flat-topped bedrock of Shinarump conglomerate rising 1,500 ft above the Virgin River valley near Hurricane, Utah. Its level surface and cliff edge allowed test objects, including the dummy "Hurricane Sam", a longer flight trajectory for assessment.

Cold War testing at Hurricane Mesa began with rocket ejection seats for supersonic aircraft at the Hurricane Supersonic Research Site. The mesa's flat bedrock of Shinarump conglomerate, 1,500 ft above the Virgin River valley, gave test objects a longer flight trajectory up from the mesa and over the cliff. The facility still tests military ejection seats for the US and foreign governments.

The mesa's flat Shinarump conglomerate bedrock gave test objects a long trajectory over the cliff, and the anthropoid dummy used in the trials was nicknamed "Hurricane Sam". The site is still used to test military ejection seats for the US and foreign governments.

The site lies west of Virgin and is accessible via Highway 9 between LaVerkin and Zion National Park. Visitors should check accessibility in advance, as the facility is not always open to the public.

The test object fired from the mesa's rim was an anthropoid dummy nicknamed "Hurricane Sam", whose longer trajectory over the cliff gave engineers a clearer reading of ejection seat performance. The mesa's flat bedrock of Shinarump conglomerate rises about 1,500 ft above the Virgin River valley.