Traveling Through the Lens
 
Picture

On my trip to the southwestern United States we stopped here at Monument Valley.  Its located on the border between Utah and Arizona and is part of the Colorado Plateau.  Pictures of this place are used everywhere (including on Led Zeppelin videos).

The sand on the ground area of the valley is made up of Cutler Red siltstone deposited by the rivers that once came through.  The red colour comes from the amount of iron oxide.  The uplifted rocks or buttes are made up of three layers.  On the bottom is Oregon Rock shale followed by de Chelley sandstone in the middle and Moenkopi shale on the top.  Between 1948 and 1967 some parts of the valley were mined for Uranium deposits.  Monument valley encompasses the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.




Leave a Reply.