The Painted Desert of Arizona is one of the most vividly colored and geologically fascinating landscapes in the American Southwest — a vast expanse of layered rock formations, mesas, and badlands that seem to shift in color with the light of the day.
The Painted Desert stretches across northeastern Arizona, from the Grand Canyon National Park area southeast through the Petrified Forest National Park, covering nearly 93,500 acres.
The desert gets its name from the brilliant layers of red, orange, pink, purple, and gray that paint the landscape — each hue representing a different geologic period.
The Painted Desert of Arizona is one of the most vividly colored and geologically fascinating landscapes in the American Southwest — a vast expanse of layered rock formations, mesas, and badlands that seem to shift in color with the light of the day.
The Painted Desert stretches across northeastern Arizona, from the Grand Canyon National Park area southeast through the Petrified Forest National Park, covering nearly 93,500 acres.
The desert gets its name from the brilliant layers of red, orange, pink, purple, and gray that paint the landscape — each hue representing a different geologic period.
