Monument Valley, Arizona-Utah

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay


 

The Lodge

Sunset

Moon and Venus over some buttes. Mercury is faintly visible below and right of Venus.

Sunrise

The Scenic Loop

The stratigraphy is fairly simple. The valley floor is Cutler Group siltstone, the thin-bedded unit at the base of the buttes is Organ Rock Shale, the cliffs are de Chelly Sandstone and the thin-bedded units at the top are Moenkopi Formation.

The Totem Pole

"Dust in the Wind" by Kansas, says "Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. In geology, nothing lasts forever, not even the earth and sky. The picturesque and oft-depicted Totem Pole is a fleeting object.

Artists' point

And sometimes you just get lucky. View from a plane of the Mittens. Artists Point is just outside the picture at lower right, the Lodge about where the straight road ends. photo taken 1979.

Forrest Gump Was Here

Forrest Gump ended his epic three year run a few miles north of here at mile marker 13, now known as Forrest Gump Point.

Hogans

A display of hogans and their construction in Kayenta.
Exhibit of native vegetation used in weaving.

Volcanic Necks

Agathla Peak and Ship Rock, NM are the two most famous volcanic necks of the Navajo Volcanic Field, which stretches east to Ship Rock and then south to near Gallup, NM.

Below: Distant views of Agathla seen from the north.
Three necks, with Agathla in the distance.

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Created 7 April 2003, Last Update 08 June 2020