| Monument Valley, Arizona. These massive towers of sandstone known as "The Mittens" are all that remain of a once-vast plateau which covered this area now called Monument Valley. As this plateau eroded away, large mesas were reduced to smaller and smaller buttes which eventually eroded into these free-standing towers. The sheer vertical sandstone cliffs of these monoliths are composed of the De Chelly Sandstone which takes its name from the canyons just south of here. As the softer sloping ramp of Organ Rock Shale at the base of these towers erodes and undermines the De Chelly Sandstone above, huge unsupported blocks will continue to tumble down the slopes. All photos in these galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage. |
