Monument Valley

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View of Monument Valley in Utah, looking south on U.S. Route 163 from 13 miles north of the Arizona/Utah State line.

Location of Monument Valley in the United States.

Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast and iconic sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. It is located on the southern border of Utah with northern Arizona (around 36°59′N 110°6′W / 36.983°N 110.1°W / 36.983; -110.1), near the Four Corners area. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation, and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163. The Navajo name for the valley is Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii (Valley of the Rocks).

1 Geology
2 The Valley in media
3 Tourism
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
7 Gallery
8 Monument Valley Panoramics

Geology

Totem Pole formation in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

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 (see Uranium mining in Arizona).

The Valley in media

Main article: List of appearances of Monument Valley in the media

Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Appearances include films, such as Westerns by director John Ford, cartoons such as Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers, Metallica's music video I Disappear and science fiction movies such as Back to the Future III; television appearances as in MacGyver; as well as DVD covers, book covers, and video games such as the Playstation 3 video game Motorstorm and the NES game Rad Racer II. It is also featured extensively in the 1980s television show Airwolf, where its hiding place was the Thunderbird Mesa.

Monument Valley panorama, taken from the Visitor Center and showing the "Mittens" and the road which makes a loop-tour through the Park

Tourism

Monument Valley from the valley floor.

Monument Valley is officially a large area which includes much of the area surrounding Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, a Navajo Nation equivalent to a national park. Oljato, for example, is also within the area designated as Monument Valley. At the Park there is a visitor center, and a small convenience/souvenir shop and a restaurant. Visitors can pay an access fee and drive through the park on a 17-mile (27 km) dirt road (a 2-3 hour trip). Tours are also available, and the fee varies between about $40 and $100 per person depending on the services provided and route. There are parts of Monument Valley which are only accessible by guided tour, such as Mystery Valley and Hunts Mesa. Horseback rides are also available from various establishments both inside the park and in the general Monument Valley area, and rates vary widely depending on the length of the ride. Rides may be only an hour, or overnight camping trips. Additionally, hot air balloon flights are available May 1 through October 31, and small airplane flights are sometimes available. Monument Valley is part of the Grand Circle, which includes the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef, Natural Bridges National Monument, Hovenweep, Arches National Park, and many other attractions.

Interior of a "male" style Navajo hogan, with a stove made from a 55 gallon barrel

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monument Valley

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park website
Map of Monument Valley
Los Angeles Times article about Monument Valley
American Southwest Guide
Energy Information Administration notes on uranium mining and its decommissioning
IMDb list of movies and television shows with scenes in Monument Valley
Column from PopMatters.com on Monument Valley in film
Photo Gallery of Monument Valley
Video Montage of Monument Valley

Gallery

East Mitten and West Mitten Buttes	View from John Ford's Point	The North Window	The North Window
The Totem Pole	The Thumb	Three Sisters	View from the Visitor's Center