Coal Mine Canyon - Navajo Reservation AZ
09/26/2017
09/26/2017
Coal Mine Canyon - Navajo Reservation 09/26/2017
This was a little side trip east of Tuba City, Arizona.
The canyon is not near anything of note. You will not see any signs pointing the way. Instead getting there requires you take a small road off a main road, then a couple dirt roads, go right at a fork in the road and look for the wind mill and water tank. Yup.
You have to walk around the rim to fully appreciate the beauty of the formations, mostly dakota sandstones and Entrada Formations of red, white, black and gray.
The bright reds are coloration of shale due to partial burning of the coal. See, you now learned something.
When you first get out this is what greets you
The colors are amazing
That is our truck. Looks pretty puny up there and give you an idea of the height of the valley walls.
Both sides of the valley have these incredible black top layers and white sides
I am in more for scale.
The white sandstone formations were just beautiful.
We were not sure exactly what these are but they were all along this section
Left over from a formation? Or old dino poop spots?
Looking out at the valley floor
Looking out at one bluff there was a large formation
So thankfully George has a good zoom on his camera.
More great formations - love the band of color
Just a neat white pillar
And a big stripped pillar in the far valley
Pyramids
And another large white pillar