Sandstone Bluffs in Zion East of Tunnel, Part 2
A stream cuts its way through crossbedding in sandstone in Zion National Park.
Stream Cutting through Crossbedding in Sandstone (B&W Panorama #1), Zion National Park, Utah (20″x40″)
Sandstone Bluffs in Zion East of Tunnel
While on a trip to Zion National Park, I hiked up an unmarked slot canyon to see a wall of petroglyphs and visit a slot canyon. The glyphs were amazing, but I was most impressed by the swooping crossbedding in the sandstone leading to towering bluffs and canyon walls.
Cross-Bedding on Sandstone (B&W Panorama #3), Zion National Park, Utah (20″x31″)
Dead Tree and Sandstone
This dead tree on the sandstone looked to me like an octopus creeping across the ocean floor.
Dead Tree on Sandstone, outside Kanab, Utah (15″x22″)
Sandstone and Cross-Bedding
I love the swooping lines in cross-bedding in sandstone.
Cross-Bedding on Sandstone Bluff near Diana’s Throne (B&W Panorama #1), outside Kanab, Utah (20″x54″)
Cross-Bedding on Sandstone Bluff near Diana’s Throne (Color Panorama #1), outside Kanab, Utah (20″x54″)
Sandstone Bluff near Diana’s Throne, UT
On a work-related trip to Salt Lake City in March, I spent a couple of days between Kanab and Zion National Park exploring a few of the sandstone bluffs north of Kanab while we waited for the flash flood watches/warnings to end so we could hike into a few slot canyons. After spending several years in North Carolina, where most of the rocks are covered in vegetation, I am always impressed by the sheer cliff faces and strata exposed to the casual hiker. I included color and B&W versions of some of the sandstone.
Sandstone Bluff near Diana Throne (B&W Vertical Panorama #1), outside Kanab, Utah (24″x34″)
Sandstone Bluff near Diana Throne (Color Vertical Panorama #1), outside Kanab, Utah (24″x34″)
Grass, Fog, Sandstone Bluffs
As I passed through Prewitt, New Mexico (just east of Gallup) along Interstate-40, I drove through the edge of a winter storm. The clouds had lowered just enough to cover most of the mountains in the distance, but I could barely see the edge of the red sandstone cliffs over the frozen grass and railroad tracks in the foreground.
Grass, Train, and Fog, near Prewitt, NM (16″x61″)
Grass, Fog, Sandstone Bluffs, near Prewitt, NM (16″x56″)
Sandstone Bluffs and Clouds at Escalante
Here are a few panoramas of the striations in the sandstone plateaus and bluffs in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
Striations and Sky, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (16″x48″)
Juniper Skeleton and Sandstone, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (16″x60″)
Texture and Space at Escalante, Part V
More from the Harris Wash and Zebra slot canyon area in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
Knife of Light in Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Receding Sandsone Pillars, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Wave of Sandstone and Clouds, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (16″x61″)
Texture and Space at Escalante, Part IV
Here are a few more landscapes and texture-focused, single-frame photographs from the Harris Wash and Zebra slot canyon area in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
Blueberry Landscape, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Cracks in Striations, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Pockmark in Striations (1), Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Half Moon in Striations, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Texture and Space at Escalante, Part III
More of the texture and form series I am putting together from Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
Crack and Lichen (1), Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Dripping Stone, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Pockmarked Rock and Lichen, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Texture and Space at Escalante, Part II
Here are a few more texture- and form-focused photographs of the sandstone walls at Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
Gravelly Undulations, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Sliver of Light, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Blueberries, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Texture and Space at Escalante
The eroded rock faces and dark slot canyons at Grand Staircase Escalante allowed me to focus in on the light, shadow, space, and texture of the rock and sky.
Looking out of the Orifice, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (16″x48″)
Eroded Divots in Sandstone, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Seeping Stains, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Peek-A-Boo and Spooky Gulches
I spent a few days camping and hiking through the canyons of Grand Staircase Escalante in March. Here is a panorama of a tree poking up from a sandstone outcropping near Spooky Gulch. I’ll post more panoramas of the area in the next few weeks.
Peek-a-boo Gulch Entrance, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (12″x18″)
Spooky Striations, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (16″x24″)
Luke Parsons Photography 