Monument Valley, Colorado Plateau, USA

Monument Valley

Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft above the valley floor. It is located on the southern border of Utah with northern Arizona near the Four Corners area. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation.

The area is part of the Colorado Plateau. The floor is largely Cutler Red siltstone or its sand deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley.The valley's vivid red color comes from iron oxide exposed in the weathered siltstone.The darker, blue-gray rocks in the valley get their color from manganese oxide.

The buttes are clearly stratified, with three principal layers. The lowest layer is Organ Rock shale, the middle de Chelly sandstone and the top layer is Moenkopi shale capped by Shinarump siltstone. The valley includes large stone structures including the famed Eye of the Sun.

Between 1948 and 1967, the southern extent of the Monument Upwarp was mined for uranium, which occurs in scattered areas of the Shinarump siltstone; vanadium and copper are associated with uranium in some deposits.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley

04.08.2010

Sunset Monument Valley

This sunset makes the landscape of Monument Valley still more effective.

ContactDEǀEN
brilliant creation - nature pictures and articles
this topic's previous nature photothis topic's next nature photo
more options
full screenclose full screen
Would you like to share some excellent nature pictures in high resolution?
Do you have suggestions or questions reffering to creation?
Please, contact us: info[]brilliant-creation.org - Internet: www.brilliant-creation.org

Please, keep in mind, that most of the nature fotos on brilliant-creation.org are protected by copyright and therefore may not be used elsewhere without written permission respectively appropriate picture credits.
Show additional information about the image's subjectHide additional information about the image's subject