Monument Valley

Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft above the valley floor. Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. The floor is largely siltstone of the Cutler Group, or sand derived from it, deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley. The lowest layer is the Organ Rock Shale, the middle is de Chelly Sandstone, and the top layer is the Moenkopi Formation capped by Shinarump Conglomerate. Visitors may pay an access fee and drive through the park on a 17-mile dirt road . While the summers may be hot, the heat is tempered by region's aridity and high altitude.