Painted Desert, Arizona

Painted Desert, Arizona
Desert
Name origin: (Colonial Spanish c. 1540) El Desierto Pintado
Country	United States
Part of	Colorado Plateau
Borders on	Little Colorado River, Puerco River
Parts	Little Painted Desert County Park (N of Winslow)
Coordinates	35°04′30″N 109°47′24″W [citation needed]
Area	7,500 sq mi (19,425 km2)

For other uses, see Painted Desert (disambiguation).

The Painted Desert is a United States desert of badlands in the Four Corners area from the Grand Canyon National Park into the Petrified Forest National Park. Much of the area within the Petrified Forest National Park is protected as the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area. Much of the Painted Desert region is within the Navajo Nation (Navajo and Hopi have lived in the region for at least five hundred and one thousand years, respectively.)^{[citation needed]}

Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park, and Navajo Nation.

Geology

The desert is composed of stratified layers of easily erodible siltstone, mudstone, and shale of the Triassic Chinle Formation. 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 layers and volcanic flows cap the mesas. Numerous layers of silicic volcanic ash 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 continue to change the face of the landscape by shifting sediment and exposing layers of the Chinle Formation. An assortment of fossilized prehistoric plants and animals are found in the region, as well as dinosaur tracks and the evidence of early human habitation.

Area

Shaded relief map, with arc-shaped desert, due north & northeast of Mogollon Plateau and Mogollon Rim.

The Painted Desert extends roughly from Cameron-Tuba City, Arizona, southeast to past Holbrook, Arizona, and the Petrified Forest National Park. The distances are approximately 120-miles in length, and a width of about 60-mi, making it roughly 7,500 square miles (19,425 km²). 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).

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 within the Navajo Nation, are two major settlements.

Gallery

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  The gray and red colored bands across the landform is typical of most geologic features in Painted Desert.

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  Painted Desert with logs of petrified wood.

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  Little Painted Desert County Park.

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  Painted Desert view in Petrified Forest National Park.

A panaromic view of Little Painted Desert County Park as seen from Highway 89.

See also

• Painted Hills, Oregon
• Painted Desert (South Australia)

References

• Ecological Subregions of the United States - US Forest Service
• Petrified Forest Wilderness Area at Wilderness.net

External links

• Regional map for Navajo Lands
• Regional Map and Visitor Information for Hopi Lands
• National Park Services Website - Petrified Forest National Park
• National Park Services Website - Early Naming
• Geology of the region
• Grand Canyon and Other Spectacular Sights in Arizona, on-the-matrix.com, (area of Painted Desert, 7500 sq mi