The Painted Desert is a United States desert of
badlands in the
Four Corners area,
[ (cited by )] running from near the east end of
Grand Canyon National Park and southeast into
Petrified Forest National Park. 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 (; 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 1540 and 1542 ...
during his 1540 quest to find the
Seven Cities of Cibola. He located these some east of
Petrified Forest National Park. Finding the cities were not made of gold, Coronado sent an expedition to find the
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
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 Wilderness, 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, where off-road travel is allowed only by permit.
Geology
The desert is composed of stratified layers of
siltstone,
mudstone, and
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...
of the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
Chinle Formation, 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 limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
layers and
volcanic flows cap the
mesas. Numerous layers of
silicic volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...
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 topography of the region.
In the southern portions of the desert, the remains of a Triassic period
coniferous forest have
fossilized over millions of years. Wind, water and soil
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
continue to change the face of the landscape by shifting
sediment
Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
and exposing layers of the Chinle Formation. An assortment of fossilized
prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
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 Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
tracks and evidence of early human habitation.
Area and climate
The Painted Desert extends roughly from
Cameron–
Tuba City southeast to past
Holbrook and the
Petrified Forest National Park. The desert is about long by about wide, making it roughly in area. Bordering southwest and south is the
Mogollon Plateau, and on the plateau's south border the
Mogollon Rim, the north border of the
Arizona transition zone.
Owing to the strong rain shadow of the Mogollon Rim, the Painted Desert has a cold
desert climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''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.
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, both on the Navajo Nation, are two major settlements. A permit is required for all backroad travel on the Navajo Nation.
Gallery
Image:The Painted Desert.JPG, The Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park
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)
References
External links
Regional map for Navajo LandsRegional Map and Visitor Information for Hopi Lands*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061010110144/http://www.nps.gov/archive/pefo/In_Depth/Geology.htm Geology of the regionGrand 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
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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