As recently as twenty years ago, the Paria Plateau was home to nothing but roaming herds of thirsty cows looking for something to eat and drink in this windswept wasteland of sand dunes and bizarre rock formations. What was surely an earthly hell for them has become one of the most popular hiking destinations anywhere on the Colorado Plateau. The lack of vegetative cover allows the bones of the earth's crust to be laid bare resulting in a remarkable assortment of sun-blasted rock sculptures, hoodoos, and taffy-striped sandstone formations. This horizontal photograph was captured with a 6x7 format camera. All photos in these fine art photo galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage.