The Painted Desert
There are few places that command the respect of the Painted Desert. Desolate, isolated, stark and absolutely lovely once you see it's beauty. This is a Triassic formation of rapid sediments or slowly deposited sediments. Rapid equals no oxygen and soft colors such as gray and lavender. Slow equals lots of oxygen for vibrant colors of red, orange and pink. After a monsoon rain, it's breathtaking. There are places you can stand and see the rainbow.
Where is
the Painted Desert?
The Painted Desert is a narrow, crescent shaped arc, about 160 miles long which begins about 30 miles north of Cameron near Grand Canyon, and swings southeast just beyond Petrified Forest National Park. This arc varies in width from 10 miles wide in the Cameron area to about 35 miles wide at Petrified Forest. The Little Colorado River cradles the southern edge and the tableland of Hopi Mesas and buttes make up the northern boundary.
What Caused
the Colors?
The landforms of the Painted Desert have
been described as a multicolored layer cake. The variety of hues in the sandstone and
mudstone layers of the Chinle Formation is the result of the varying mineral content in
the sediments and the rate at which the sediments were laid down. When sediments are
deposited slowly, oxides of iron and (hematite) aluminum become concentrated in the soil.
These concentrations create the red, orange, and pink colors you see at the north end of
the park. During a rapid sediment buildup such as a flooding event, oxygen is removed from
the soil forming the blue, gray, and lavender layers. You will see these colors as you
travel through the southern portion of the park.
The Painted Desert is an expanse of
badland hills, flat-topped mesas and buttes. It is an arid land, sparsely vegetated and
heavily eroded. The name Painted Desert refers to the rainbow of colorful sedimentary
layers exposed in the austere landscape. It is represented by outcroppings of the Late
Triassic Period Chinle Formation.
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