Monument Valley

Away early for the four-hour drive to the Arizona-Utah border and Monument Valley.  Situated in the gigantic Navajo Reservation, the valley is located at an elevation of 5,500 feet on the Colorado Plateau.  Vegetation is sparse.  The monuments; mesas, buttes and spires range from 100 feet to 1,500 feet in height and are mostly an orange-red sandstone formation dating from the Permian period, 160 million years ago.  Formed by tectonic uplift, volcanoes and endless erosion by water, wind and ice over millions of years, the rock formations are astonishing and eerily beautiful.  Even the road to the park is replete with what would be wonders anywhere else.  A geologist's paradise.

We opted to take our own car down the rough but passable gravel road on a self-guided tour.  Soon we were gawping at The Mittens, Elephant Butte, the Three Sisters, Rain God Mesa, Thunderbird Mesa and the rest  with the other visitors.

The Mittens and Merrick Butte at entrance to valley

Needle

Spearhead Mesa