Mexican Hat is a small settlement on Highway 163 in southwestern Utah named after a curious formation nearby consisting of a large flat rock 60 ft. in diameter perched precariously on a much smaller base at the top of a small hill. It looks like an upside-down sombrero. The village of Mexican Hat is home to fewer than 100 people and offers few facilities but the surrounding scenery is spectacular featuring 1200 ft. red sandstone cliffs, deep layered canyons, vast sandy desert plains, and a wide valley called "Valley of the Gods" that is studded with isolated red rock buttes and mesas.
Tags: Mexican Hat rock Utah southwest Navajo Indian Reservation sandstone rock formation village desert plain nature sombrero
© All Rights Reserved
View large on black
The Valley of the Gods in southeastern Utah is a smaller scale version of Monument Valley. Its tall, red, isolated sandstone mesas and cliffs stand above the level valley floor, remnants of some ancient landscape. The valley lies on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and is completely undeveloped. This whole region is excellent for photography especially in late afternoon, when I took this shot, or at sunset when the rocks take on a particularly deep red color.
© EVAN READER
Copyright for this photo belongs solely to EVAN READER, GREATEST PAKA PHOTOGRAPHY. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the express written permission of the photographer.
Tags: mesa butte spire geology ancient landsape nature Monument Valley Mexican Hat Utah BLM Bureau of Land Management sandstone Valley of the Gods cloud
© All Rights Reserved
Scenic Byway 163 stretches from the Arizona border through Monument Valley in Utah. It is one of the most scenic stretches of highway in the world.
Tags: mesa butte spire geology ancient landsape nature Monument Valley Mexican Hat Utah BLM Bureau of Land Management sandstone Valley of the Gods perspective highway scenic travel Highway 163 road
© All Rights Reserved
Isolated red rock buttes dot the landsape at Utah's 'Valley of the Gods'. As beautiful billowy clouds pass overhead casting their shadows, the rocks take on a particularly deep red color. Valley of the Gods is a smaller version of the larger and better-known Monument Valley which is located 40 miles away. It is a seldom-visited backcountry area north of the town of Mexican Hat and northwest of Bluff. The rocky valley lies at the base of Cedar Mesa, and the rocks were deposited by the invasion of a shallow sea about 250 million years ago. Over time, the water retreated, and the ancient sandstones and shales gradually turned red or purple as the iron in the rocks mixed with oxygen to form rust.
Tags: sandstone butte mesa geology ancient monument erosion plateau shale conglomerate debris Valley of the Gods Utah Monument Valley Mexican Hat Bluff Cedar Mesa rock southwest Navajo rock formation desert plain nature
© All Rights Reserved