I have always wanted to visit this place, ever since I first saw it on those old Western films on TV.

Monument Valley  is a considered a sacred place by the Navajo Nation, the native American people within whose reservation it lies. Walking amongst these magnificent geological formations was certainly a spiritual moment that I will never forget.

Monument Valley is part of the Colorado Plateau. The elevation of the valley floor ranges from 5,000 to 6,000 feet (1,500 to 1,800 m) above sea level. The floor is largely siltstone or sand derived from it, deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley. The valley's vivid red coloration comes from iron oxide exposed in the weathered siltstone. The darker, blue-grey rocks in the valley get their colour from manganese oxide.

Monument Valley is famous for its butte formations, with the most famous being the East and West Mittens and Merrick. Buttes form by weathering and erosion when hard caprock overlies a layer of less resistant rock that is eventually worn away, whilst the harder rock on top of the butte resists erosion. The caprock provides protection for the less resistant rock below from wind abrasion which leaves it standing isolated. As the top is further eroded by abrasion and weathering, the excess material that falls off adds to the scree or talus slope around the base.