Monument Valley. Monument Valley provides perhaps the most enduring and definitive images of the American West. The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy desert have been filmed and photographed countless times over the years. Because of this, the area may seem quite familiar, even on a first visit, but it is soon evident that the natural colours really are as bright and deep as they are in all the pictures.
Valley of the Gods
Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce Canyon National Park does not contain one main canyon, but rather a dozen smaller ravines eroded into the east side of a ridge at the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southwest Utah. This erosion has resulted in thousands of bizarre and fragile rock formations in many subtle shades of pink, white, yellow and red. The Park is named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon farmer who was the first modern-day settler in the region. The park is located about 270 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada and about 270 miles south of Salt Lake City. It is 85 miles northeast of Zion National Park.
Arches, Canyonlands and Natural Bridges. Arches National Park is of course famous for the red sandstone arches that occur there in great profusion. The visitor centre sells a map showing the location of over 1000 of them, ranging in size from Landscape Arch (with an 89-metre span) to small openings one metre across. However, there are also many other striking rock formations scattered over the Park’s 73,000 acres, and to see the whole area would take several days.
Rocks in Window Section
Utah. The state of Utah is located in southwestern USA about 500 miles east of the California coast and just west of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. It encompasses about 85,000 square miles and has a population of just two million. Salt Lake City with 160,000 inhabitants is the only major city in the state. It is the spiritual center of the Church of Latter Day Saints more commonly known as the Mormons. Salt Lake City is home of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the repository of the worlds largest genealogical library maintained by the Mormon Church.