Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. It is located on the Arizona–Utah border, near the Four Corners area. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163.
The below picture was taken from freeway I-163 (coming from Mexican Hat).
The below picture was taken from inside the Navajo Tribal Park. The views are great but not worth the $20 charge unless you do the drive through the valley. But if you want to make the tour by car around the valley, be aware that it is on unpaved roads, really unsuitable for regular car. Thanks to my Mustang, we were able to drive 12 miles inside the park in dirt road.
Panorama taken from the view hotel, showing the West and East Mitten Buttes and the road making the loop-tour through the park.
West Mitten Butte: West and East Mitten Buttes (also known collectively as The Mittens) are two distinctive geological features found within the Monument Valley. When viewed from the south, the buttes appear to be two gigantic mittens with their thumbs facing inwards.
Merrick Butte
Artist’s View Point: Another short spur forks north and climbs gradually to the edge of a plateau, where the ground falls away quite steeply and ahead stretch many miles of flat land punctuated by the familiar peaks of Mitten Buttes, Merrick Butte plus the more distant pinnacles around Monument pass. This is the Artist’s view point.
The below picture is ‘Three Sisters‘ – The Three Sisters are a group of thin pinnacles, eroded remnants of a narrow ridge extending southwards from one corner of Mitchell Mesa – together with adjoining Wetherill Mesa, these two flat-topped hills shield this part of Monument Valley from US 163 further west.
Totem Pole
The below picture shows the view points on a Valley Drive
There are lots of things to do here, a self-guided 3.1 miles wildcat trail takes you along the base of west mitten butte, monument valley safari tour and camping. This is perhaps the most famous example of the classic american west landscape and has been a backdrop for the numerous movies of John Wayne, back to the future and the Forrest Gump.
