The Painted Desert is a United States desert of
badlands
Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...
in the
Four Corners
The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
area,
[ (cited by )] running from near the east end of
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...
and southeast into
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is an American national park in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo and Apache County, Arizona, Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about , encompassin ...
. It is most easily accessed from the north portion of Petrified Forest National Park. The Painted Desert is known for its brilliant and varied colors: these include the more common red rock, but also shades of lavender.
History
The Painted Desert was named by a Spanish expedition under
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján (; 1510 – 22 September 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas through parts of the southwestern United States between 15 ...
during his 1540 quest to find the
Seven Cities of Cibola
The myth of the Seven Cities of Gold, also known as the Seven Cities of Cibola (), was popular in the 16th century and later featured in several works of popular culture. According to legend, the seven cities of gold referred to Aztec mythology r ...
. He located these some east of
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is an American national park in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo and Apache County, Arizona, Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about , encompassin ...
. Finding the cities were not made of gold, Coronado sent an expedition to find the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
to gain supplies. Passing through the wonderland of colors, they named the area ''El Desierto Pintado'' ("The Painted Desert").
Much of the Painted Desert within Petrified Forest National Park is protected as
Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area, where motorized travel is limited. The park offers both easy and longer hikes into the colored hills. The Painted Desert continues north into the
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...
, where off-road travel is allowed only by permit.
Geology
The desert is composed of stratified layers of
siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...
,
mudstone
Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...
, and
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
of the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
Chinle Formation
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In Ne ...
, which erode easily. These fine-grained rock layers contain abundant iron and manganese compounds, which provide the pigments for the various colors of the region. Thin, resistant
lacustrine
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
layers and
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
flows cap the
mesa
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...
s. Numerous layers of
silicic
Silicic is an adjective to describe magma or igneous rock rich in silica. The amount of silica that constitutes a silicic rock is usually defined as at least 63 percent. Granite and rhyolite are the most common silicic rocks.
Silicic is the group ...
volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
occur in the Chinle and provide the silica for the
petrified logs of the area. The erosion of these layers has resulted in the formation of the
badlands
Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...
topography of the region.
In the southern portions of the desert, the remains of a Triassic period
coniferous
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
forest have
fossilized
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
over millions of years. Wind, water and soil
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
continue to change the face of the landscape by shifting
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
and exposing layers of the Chinle Formation. An assortment of fossilized
prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
plants and animals are found in the region, as well as ancient
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
tracks and evidence of early human habitation.
Area and climate
The Painted Desert extends roughly from
Cameron–
Tuba City
Tuba City ( nv, ) is an unincorporated town in Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-designated place (CDP) was 8,611 at the 2010 cen ...
southeast to past
Holbrook Holbrook may refer to:
Places
England
*Holbrook, Derbyshire, a village
* Holbrook, Somerset, a hamlet in Charlton Musgrove
* Holbrook, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a former mining village in Mosborough ward, now known as Halfway
*Holbrook, Suffolk, ...
and the
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is an American national park in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo and Apache County, Arizona, Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about , encompassin ...
. The desert is about long by about wide, making it roughly in area. Bordering southwest and south is the
Mogollon Plateau
The Mogollon Plateau or Mogollon Mesa ( or ) is a pine-covered southern plateau section of the larger Colorado Plateau in east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico, United States. The southern boundary of the plateau is the Mogollon Rim. The ...
, and on the plateau's south border the
Mogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border ...
, the north border of the
Arizona transition zone
The Arizona transition zone is a diagonal northwest-by-southeast region across central Arizona. The region is a transition from the higher-elevation Colorado Plateau in Northeast Arizona and the Basin and Range region of lower-elevation deserts ...
.
Owing to the strong rain shadow of the Mogollon Rim, the Painted Desert has a cold
desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BWk''), with hot, dry summers and chilly (though virtually snow-free) winters. The annual precipitation is the lowest in northern Arizona and in many places is lower even than
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
.
Accessibility
Much of the region is accessible only by foot or unpaved road though major highways and paved roads cut across the area. The towns of
Cameron and
Tuba City
Tuba City ( nv, ) is an unincorporated town in Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-designated place (CDP) was 8,611 at the 2010 cen ...
, both on the Navajo Nation, are two major settlements. A permit is required for all backroad travel on the Navajo Nation.
In popular culture
* In the Disney film ''
Melody Time
''Melody Time'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney. The tenth Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to popular mu ...
'', the character
Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill is a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. These narratives were invented as short stories in a book by Tex O'Reill ...
gives the Painted Desert its name by using Native American war paint.
* In the
orchestral suite
A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...
''
Grand Canyon Suite
The ''Grand Canyon Suite'' is a suite for orchestra by Ferde Grofé, composed between 1929 and 1931. It was initially titled ''Five Pictures of the Grand Canyon''.
It consists of five movements, each an evocation in tone of a particular scene t ...
'' by
Ferde Grofé
Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972) (pronounced FUR-dee GROW-fay) was an American composer, arrangement, arranger, pianist and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement tone poem, ...
, the second movement is titled ''Painted Desert''.
Gallery
Image:The Painted Desert.JPG, The Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is an American national park in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo and Apache County, Arizona, Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about , encompassin ...
Image:Painted Desert 2 700px.jpg, The gray and red colored bands across the landform are typical of most geologic features in the Painted Desert.
Image:Blue Mesa Painted Desert.jpg, Painted Desert with logs of petrified wood, Petrified Forest National Park
Painted Desert.webm, 360° panorama at Tiponi Point
See also
*
Painted Hills, Oregon
*
Painted Desert (South Australia)
The Painted Desert is in the Far North (South Australia), Far North of South Australia. It is north-east of Coober Pedy, South Australia, Coober Pedy, in the Arckaringa Station pastoral lease, not far from the homestead. It is notable for its d ...
References
External links
Regional map for Navajo LandsRegional Map and Visitor Information for Hopi LandsNational Park Services Website – Petrified Forest National ParkGrand Canyon and Other Spectacular Sights in Arizona, on-the-matrix.com, (area of Painted Desert, 7500 sq mi*
ttp://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=wildView&wname=Petrified%20Forest%20National Petrified Forest Wilderness Areaat Wilderness.net
{{Authority control
Deserts of Arizona
Petrified Forest National Park
Geography of Apache County, Arizona
Geography of Coconino County, Arizona
Geography of Navajo County, Arizona
Geography of the Navajo Nation
Landmarks in Arizona
Natural history of Coconino County, Arizona
Regions of Arizona
Tourist attractions along U.S. Route 66
Tourist attractions in Apache County, Arizona
Tourist attractions in Coconino County, Arizona
Tourist attractions in Navajo County, Arizona