There's no telling how long this sun-bleached branch has been laying in this small alcove in the Coyote Buttes region of the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. This photograph was captured at a time of day when soft, warm light was reflecting off the surrounding red-rock formations. This reflected light causes the rock in this alcove to appear to be glowing from within. While vast outcrops of Navajo Sandstone occur all across the Colorado Plateau, the Paria Plateau and Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area contain one of the highest concentrations of surreal and bizarre Navajo sandstone formations seen anywhere. These swirling domes of cross-bedded sandstone don't look much different today than the windblown dunes from which they formed some 190 million years ago. The dry, desiccated winds which blow through this part of northern Arizona don't provide much rain or snow to nourish the plants. This lack of vegetative cover allows the bones of the earth's crust to be laid bare to the elements. When infrequent rains do come, they usually arrive as cloudbursts which blow away any soil or sand which has accumulated in these stone basins. This panoramic photograph was captured with a 6x17 panorama format camera. All photos in these fine art photo galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage.