Monument Valley

Towering red sandstone buttes on Navajo land, the classic backdrop of Western films.

The valley lies inside the Navajo Nation, and the Navajo name for it means 'valley of the rocks'. The Navajo consider it sacred. Much of it is protected as Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Its red rock and wide sky have appeared in countless Western movies, so many that the valley has shaped how people imagine the American West.

How the buttes formed

The valley floor sits 1,500 to 1,800 metres above sea level and is made mostly of siltstone, a fine rock, or sand worn from it by winding rivers. Its red colour comes from iron oxide, a kind of rust, and the darker blue-gray rocks get their colour from manganese oxide. The buttes show three main layers: Organ Rock Shale at the bottom, de Chelly Sandstone in the middle, and the Moenkopi Formation topped by Shinarump Conglomerate. Wind and water have carved them into shapes like the Mittens, Merrick Butte and the Totem Pole.

Land of the Navajo and the movies

The director John Ford filmed several Westerns here, starting with Stagecoach in 1939. Later films included My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers. A film critic wrote that the valley's five square miles shaped what moviegoers picture when they think of the American West.

Between 1945 and 1967 the southern part of the area was mined for uranium, which occurs in the Shinarump Conglomerate layer.

Visiting today

Visitors pay an entry fee and can drive a 27-kilometre dirt road through the park. Some places, such as Mystery Valley and Hunts Mesa, can only be seen with a guide. The climate is desert: cold winters, hot summers softened by the high altitude, and cool nights after sunset. Snow is rare and usually melts in a day or two.

On the globe

The model shows red sandstone buttes rising from the desert. Look for the Mitten-shaped towers.