Great Photography Spots In Vermillion Cliffs National Monument
Fantastic lunar landscape of the Wave, in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, located in both Utah and Arizona. Story & Photography by Jerry Ginsberg. Although the four states that comprise the great Southwest (New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah) contain a combined total of thirteen national parks, this vast area has so much spectacular natural beauty that all of it could not possibly be contained within these parks.
Fortunately, a great deal of the precious wilderness lying outside the defined borders of these national parks has been protected as well. In most cases, these are federal lands; in several others, state parks. Standing high among these is the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. Including the former Paria Wilderness, this 294,000 acre tract on the very northern edge of Arizona* is bigger than several of our actual national parks. In addition to the great, but lengthy hike through Paria Canyon, perhaps the very best area of this national monument begins at the head of the Wirepass Trail. This is the starting point for two distinctly separate hikes featuring markedly different types of great photography. Striations: Such sensuously rounded red rock forms are common in the bowl of the Coyote Buttes.