Monument Valley

Monument Valley is located on the southern border of Utah with northern Arizona (around {{coor dm|36|58.57362|N|110|5.51604|W}}). The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation near the town of Goulding and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163.

Geology

The area is part of the Colorado Plateau. The floor is largely Cutler Red siltstone or its sand deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley. The valley's vivid red color comes from iron oxide exposed in the weathered siltstone. The darker, blue-grey rocks in the valley get their color from manganese oxide.

Related Topics:
Colorado Plateau - Siltstone - Iron oxide - Manganese oxide

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The buttes are clearly stratified, with three principal layers. The lowest layer is Organ Rock shale, the middle de Chelly sandstone and the top layer is Moenkopi shale capped by Shinarump siltstone.

Related Topics:
Stratified - Shale - Sandstone

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Between 1948 and 1967, the southern extent of the Monument Upwarp was mined for uranium ore, which occurs in scattered areas of the Shinarump siltstone.

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