Monument Valley – A Study of Rock Formations

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is located in Arizona and Utah and covers 91,696 acres.  It’s a place where you can almost feel time stand still and peace envelop you.  The large and varied rock formations were formed by erosion and range from 100 ft to 1500 ft tall.  Many of the formations have been given names – Elephant Butte, Camel Butte, The Three Sisters, Totem Pole and more.



Camel Butte (Can you see him?)



Tourism is big business here.  “The View” is a beautiful new hotel and every room has a view of the monuments.  We saw more rental RV’s than we could count.  And well over half the visitors were from other countries. 

I was most interested in seeing the rock formations, the striations and faces of the rocks, the light and shadow as the sun moved across the sky. 

The colors and textures made me want to get clay out and model while I observed the changes.   I have no doubt that this experience will have a major impact on my future jewelry designs in shapes and textures.