Colors and Forms of Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

Dennis already posted several lovely photos of the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. But I wanted to share a few more. This area of Arizona left an indelible impression on me four decades ago when a group of art and photo students from Valparaiso University took a two-week traveling photographic workshop over senior year spring break. Professor George Strimbu was a saint to lead this motley crew across the west and back in a 40 ft. motorhome.  I only saw a small portion of the Painted Desert back then, and what photos I took were mostly black and white. Dennis and I were eager to explore this area as it was his first time there.

Areas of the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest areas have an “other worldly” look to them just like the South Dakota Badlands, only with more colorful layers. The national park website describes these colorful layers as pages in a massive book. The first chapter of this geological text is the Chinle Formation. The Chinle Formation was deposited over 200 million years ago during the late Triassic period.

Rosy orange hills of the Painted Desert

A slice of the pink desert landscape

Rocks perched on maroon-gray hills in the "forest"

Painted hills in the style of Georgia O'Keefe

In the Petrified Forest, I was enthralled by the jewel-like colors of the harder than granite wood. Here are a few examples to show the variation of color and texture from piece to piece.

Quarter placed on top edge for size

Subtle pink, tan and gray-green combo was unusual

White and blue quartz contrast with earthen colors

From large logs to stool-like chunks to small gravel-sized pieces, the landscape was sometimes strewn with these pieces. In other sections, it looked like the wood was strategically placed for effect.

Dennis for scale

Petrified log sitting atop an eroding hill

And during our first day visit, this inquisitive raven followed us around for a while.

There was evidence of ancient Puebloan cultures via petroglyphs on the rocks.

 These photos capture only small glimpses of this fascinating, magical, historical park. If you haven't been, we highly recommend a trip. The northeast part of Arizona has many beautiful places to explore. We didn't make it to Canyon de Chelly National Monument this trip, but we will be back. Canyon de Chelly is one of the many memorable places I recall visiting on that traveling photographic workshop during college.