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South
West USA
Monument Valley
Right on the Arizona/Utah
border lies an area that's so extraordinary it makes
you jaw drop and stay down. Schoolbooks taught us
about volcanoes and fault lines, about river, glacier
and sea erosion. But here is a place where strange
pillars rise out of a flat plain. It's not a canyon
and it's not really a valley, despite its name.
Over thousands of years, wind and frost have carved
these pillars directly out of the red sandstone,
leaving an impressive and unforgettable sight.
Chances are that you'll recognise
this place. One of the locals 'sold' Hollywood the
idea of using it as a film set, and it appears in
numerous westerns (and many modern adverts based
on old-time westerns). As you drive around the trails
you almost expect to see a stagecoach appear with
a gaggle of outlaws in hot pursuit!
This area is Navaho land, and they
run the site, charging reasonable fees for the car
park and for using the self-drive trails. You can
also join a jeep tour, or even a mule-back tour,
run by Navahos. The self-drive route is about 14
miles on unmade, but well managed, tracks. You won't
damage the car, but you will smother it in red mud.
The pillars are called
'buttes' (pronounced to rhyme with 'newts') and
result from interrupted erosion. The top layer resisted
the forces that carved away material from the surrounding
plateau.
Each butte is surrounded
at the base by screes. On many of the pillars you
can see patches from which the most recent erosion
stripped material away. One day, Monument Valley
will be a featureless plain.
If you visit Monument Valley
and have time to spare call in at the Burger King
in Kayenta to see their absorbing display on the
Navaho Code
Talkers.
