Geology Photos

The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 20605  

The Second Wave at Sunset, North Coyote Buttes. The Second Wave, a curiously-shaped sandstone swirl, takes on rich warm tones and dramatic shadowed textures at sunset. Set in the North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah, the Second Wave is characterized by striations revealing layers of sedimentary deposits, a visible historical record depicting eons of submarine geology.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 20606  

Extended High Mountain pose, Utthita Tadasana, sunrise on Mesa Arch, Utah. An exuberant hiker greets the dawning sun from atop Mesa Arch.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18036  

Hiker in North Window, sunset, western face. North Window is a natural sandstone arch 90 feet wide and 48 feet high.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18159  

Light Beam in Upper Antelope Slot Canyon. Thin shafts of light briefly penetrate the convoluted narrows of Upper Antelope Slot Canyon, sending piercing beams through the sandstone maze to the sand floor below.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 28570  

The Wave at Night, under a clear night sky full of stars. Photographer is illuminating the striated rocks with a small handheld light. The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes is set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28620  

The Second Wave at Night. The Second Wave, a spectacular sandstone formation in the North Coyote Buttes, lies under a sky full of stars.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28627  

A hiker admiring the striated walls and dramatic light within Antelope Canyon, a deep narrow slot canyon formed by water and wind erosion.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 17993  

Tracy greets the dawn, with Turret Arch in the distance viewed through North Window at Sunrise.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 37860  

The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 20607  

The Second Wave at Sunset, Vermillion Cliffs. The Second Wave, a curiously-shaped sandstone swirl, takes on rich warm tones and dramatic shadowed textures at sunset. Set in the North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah, the Second Wave is characterized by striations revealing layers of sedimentary deposits, a visible historical record depicting eons of submarine geology.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28613  

The Second Wave at sunset. The Second Wave, a curiously-shaped sandstone swirl, takes on rich warm tones and dramatic shadowed textures at sunset. Set in the North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah, the Second Wave is characterized by striations revealing layers of sedimentary deposits, a visible historical record depicting eons of submarine geology.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28614  

Mesa Arch spans 90 feet and stands at the edge of a mesa precipice thousands of feet above the Colorado River gorge. For a few moments at sunrise the underside of the arch glows dramatically red and orange.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18040  

Milky Way galaxy rises above the Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 28428  

Elephant arch and stars at night, moonlight, Valley of Fire State Park.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 28435  

Mobius Arch at sunrise, framing snow dusted Lone Pine Peak and the Sierra Nevada Range in the background. Also known as Galen's Arch, Mobius Arch is found in the Alabama Hills Recreational Area near Lone Pine.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27644  

Milky Way galaxy rises above the Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 28554  

The Second Wave at Sunset, Vermillion Cliffs. The Second Wave, a curiously-shaped sandstone swirl, takes on rich warm tones and dramatic shadowed textures at sunset. Set in the North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah, the Second Wave is characterized by striations revealing layers of sedimentary deposits, a visible historical record depicting eons of submarine geology.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28619  

The Fire Wave, a beautiful sandstone formation exhibiting dramatic striations, striped layers in the geologic historical record.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 26473  

Turret Arch through North Window, winter, sunrise.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18120  

Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills, seen here at night with swirling star trails formed in the sky above due to a long time exposure.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27681  

Racetrack sailing stone and star trails. A sliding rock of the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27671  

Sailing stone on the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27689  

The Wave in the North Coyote Buttes, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28601  

Aerial Photo of Raplee Ridge near Mexican Hat, Utah. Raplee Ridge is a spectacular series of multicolored triangular flatirons near the San Juan River. Often called "the Raplee Anticline" the geologic structure is in fact better described as a monocline, according to the Utah Geological Survey.
Location: Mexican Hat, Utah
Image ID: 39489  

Aerial photo of the San Rafael Reef at dawn. A fold in the Earth's crust leads to this inclined section of the San Rafael Reef, at the eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell. Clearly seen are the characteristic triangular flatiron erosion patterns that typical this formation. The colors seen here arise primarily from Navajo and Wingate sandstone.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 39787  

Sunrise light on Turret Arch viewed through North Window, winter.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18119  

The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 20608  

The Fire Wave by Moonlight, stars and the night sky, Valley of Fire State Park.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 28442  
Panorama dimensions: 6250 x 6887