A pullout at Danish Hill looks across banded slopes of the Chinle Formation, a layer rich in volcanic ash and petrified wood. Its colors record ancient rivers and bogs, and the clay is so poor for plants that the hills stay almost bare. The park also marks this spot for stargazing.
Two kinds of water painted this hill. If the sound cuts out when you turn the car off, tap play. Oxygen-rich river water turned the iron in these slopes lavender and red. Stagnant bogs turned it green and gray. About two hundred twenty-five million years ago this was swamps, primitive trees and giant ferns, with murky water full of ash from distant volcanoes. It's called the Chinle, about seven hundred feet of it, gray and burgundy, climbing to the foot of the sheer cliff, and it's full of petrified wood. See how bare these slopes are? There's a river not far off, and these hills stay naked anyway. It isn't just dry. The clays make poor ground for plants, so nothing covers the color.
Photo: NPS · Public domain (U.S. Government work)