Geology
Sandstone
43 destinations along 34 roads
The red rock is older than it looks like it should be — most of it is petrified desert, dunes from a Sahara-scale sand sea that blew across the Colorado Plateau some 190 million years ago, then buried, cemented, and lifted back into the light. Look for the long diagonal sweep of cross-bedding in a Navajo Sandstone cliff and you're reading the face of a Jurassic dune. The red is iron, rusting in place. Slickrock, cliff, and arch all begin here.
CA-1, about 20 miles north of Jenner1
CA-1, about 3 miles south of Point Arena1
IR-71
UT-93
Canyon Overlook Trail
Springdale
A short, exposed hike just east of the tunnel to a thousand-foot view down into Zion Canyon
Checkerboard Mesa
Springdale
A 900-foot dome of Navajo sandstone scored into a natural grid, near Zion's east entrance
Zion National Park
Springdale
Towering sandstone cliffs that glow like fire at sunset