Forrest Gump Point Monument Valley November 2018 001

The View Hotel in the Monument Valley Arizona

Monument Valley (, , meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. This plateau covers an area of 336,700 km2 (130,000 mi2) within w ...

characterized by a cluster of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

s, with the largest reaching above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

–

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

state line. The valley is considered

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

by the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies. Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

used the location for a number of his

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

s. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

Geography and geology

Monument Valley is part of the

. The elevation of the valley floor ranges from above sea level. The floor is largely

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. Although its permeabil ...

of the Cutler Group, or sand derived from it, deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley. The valley's vivid red coloration comes from

iron oxide An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust. Iron ...

exposed in the weathered siltstone. The darker, blue-gray rocks in the valley get their color from

manganese oxide Manganese oxide is any of a variety of manganese oxides and hydroxides.Wells A.F. (1984) ''Structural inorganic chemistry'' 5th edition Oxford Science Publications, . These include * Manganese(II) oxide, MnO * Manganese(II,III) oxide, Mn3O4 * Man ...

. The

s arising from the valley floor are clearly stratified, with three principal layers. The lowest layer is the

Organ Rock Shale The Organ Rock Formation or Organ Rock Shale is a formation within the late Pennsylvanian to early Permian Cutler Group and is deposited across southeastern Utah, northwestern New Mexico, and northeastern Arizona. This formation notably outcrops ar ...

, the middle is de Chelly Sandstone, and the top layer is the

Moenkopi Formation The Moenkopi Formation is a geological formation that is spread across the U.S. states of New Mexico, northern Arizona, Nevada, southeastern California, eastern Utah and western Colorado. This unit is considered to be a Geological unit, group ...

capped by Shinarump Conglomerate. Major rock formations include West and East Mitten Buttes, Merrick Butte, Hunts Mesa, Eagle Mesa, Sentinel Mesa, Brighams Tomb, Castle Rock,

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

, Big Indian, Rain God Mesa, Spearhead Mesa, Mitchell Mesa, Mitchell Butte, Gray Whiskers, Elephant Butte, Camel Butte, Cly Butte, King-on-his-Throne, Rooster Rock, and Setting Hen. Another notable formation is

Totem Pole Totem poles () are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large t ...

, a highly eroded butte remanent. The valley also includes large stone structures, such as the "Eye of the Sun". Between 1945 and 1967, the southern extent of the Monument Upwarp was mined for

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

, which occurs in scattered areas of the Shinarump Conglomerate;

vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

are associated with uranium in some deposits.

Tourism

Monument Valley includes much of the area surrounding Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, a Navajo Nation equivalent to a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

. Oljato, for example, is also within the area designated as Monument Valley. Visitors may pay an access fee and drive through the park on a dirt road. Parts of Monument Valley, such as Mystery Valley and Hunts Mesa, are accessible only by guided tour.

Climate

Monument Valley experiences a desert climate with cold winters and hot summers. While the summers may be hot, the heat is tempered by the region's high altitude. Although the valley experiences an average of 54 days above annually, summer highs rarely exceed . Summer nights are comfortably cool, and temperatures drop quickly after sunset. Winters are cold, but daytime highs are usually above freezing. Even in the winter, temperatures below are uncommon, although possible. Monument Valley receives an occasional light snowfall in the winter, but it usually melts within a day or two.

In visual media

Monument Valley has been featured in numerous computer games, in print, and in motion pictures, including multiple Westerns directed by John Ford that influenced audiences' view of the American West, such as: ''

'' (1939), '' My Darling Clementine'' (1946), '' Fort Apache'' (1948), '' She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'' (1949), and ''

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...

'' (1956). Many more recent movies, with other directors, were also filmed in Monument Valley, including Sergio Leone's '' Once Upon a Time in the West'' (1968), the first

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

to be filmed (in 1967) outside Europe, and

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing ''Mouse Hunt'', '' The Ring'', the first 3 ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. For '' ...

's ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'' (2013).

Gallery

Monument Valley (14).jpg, Monument Valley, the Thumb Mittens and Merrick after Sunset.jpg, West, East Mittens and Merrick Butte after sunset Snow covered Monument Valley sunrise in January.jpg, Snow-covered Monument Valley sunrise in January Monument Valley, 6AM.jpg, Monument Valley West and East Butte at 6:00 am Sandstorm in Monument Valley, Arizona - Utah, USA.jpg, Sandstorm in Monument Valley Monument Valley, Utah, USA - 23638754781.jpg, Vegetation of Monument Valley Monument Valley, Utah, USA - 23426578800.jpg, Monument Valley landscape Golden_Monument_Valley (cropped).jpg, View on the Monument Valley from Hunts mesa Monument Valley rock formation.jpg, Monument Valley rock formation Mystery Valley, Monument Valley, 2005 (1).jpg, Mystery Valley

Panorama

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{Authority control Native American culture Buttes of Arizona Landforms of Apache County, Arizona Landforms of Navajo County, Arizona Colorado Plateau Regions of Arizona Valleys of Arizona Rock formations of Arizona Valleys of Utah Rock formations of Utah Regions of Utah Landforms of San Juan County, Utah Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America Protected areas of Apache County, Arizona Protected areas of Navajo County, Arizona Protected areas of San Juan County, Utah Sacred mountains of the United States Sacred rocks Tourist attractions in Utah Geography of the Navajo Nation