Canyon Country:
One Red Rock Site Among Others
Latest addition: an aside
Wait: What About Joshua Tree National Park?
Rocks that are red, but not "red rocks"
In my recent two-day visit to Joshua Tree National Park, I made a bad guess. The massive boulders took soft, and they are red, but not because they are "red rocks."
Not, that is, red rocks all over the American Southwest. The rock formations in Joshua Tree are not soft sandstone, but granite! Water has moved through them, despite being granite! Not sandstone, but red— why? Iron oxide exposed by geologic processes.
See more from Joshua Tree National Park's Facebook page. Try clicking the URL:Try clicking the URL — https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaTreeNPS/posts/one-could-say-that-joshua-tree-has-some-pretty-gneiss-rock-formations-you-may-he/10162868075975181/
And for MY photographer's perspective, visit my Joshua Tree gallery!
I am revising this post on December 8, 2025. Note as you visit the Canyon Country gallery the pervasive red rock is in this region! The Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, and Sedona Arizona join Canyon Country in glowing red!
In late May of 2025, I went on another grand photography trip, this time to "Canyon Country," i.e., Page Ariz0na, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Lake Powell, slot canyons like Antelope Canyon (but also "Secret Canyon"), and the Colorado River with its bends ("Horseshoe Bend") and curves. Here is a link to the Canyon Country gallery.
Red Rock Formations
Throughout the American West
If it is red rock formations you are seeking, Sedona Arizona might be your next destination.
Why are they red, if they are sandstone like other sandstone formations? Iron oxide pervades these marvelous structures— RUST!
Badlands composed of red rock (soft red rock)
Badlands National Park at dusk. We may think these are the only badlands, that South Dakota has a monopoly and them. But if "badlands" generically or just highly eroded sedimentary rock (click here to see the Wikipedia article on the subject) we in Arizona have some too!
The red rock here, at Painted Desert/ Petrified Forest National Park is widespread on the Colorado Plateau. But it is soft and has quickly eroded. So the Painted Desert is a painted badland.
Now you see the geology of "Canyon Country" in a context. The beautiful, textured nature of the canyon walls marks it as badlands red rock. This shot was taken on a tour of Secret Canyon, near Page Arizona.
The hues of red rock vary. We see magentas, oranges, reds, and other subtle colors. . This shot like the one above was taken in Secret Canyon. You can see or purchase a larger version of this photo. Click here.
Horseshoe Bend, shown here, is a twist in the Colorado River— the same river that, over millions of years, carved the Grand Canyon. Horseshoe Bend is part of Canyon Country. Overlooks are almost within the city of Page, Arizona. The tour guide who took us through Secret Canyon brought us at day's end to this amazing structure!
A larger file can be seen and purchased. Click here.
Galleries highlighting red rock geology in various parts of the American West::
Canyon Country: Rivers, Erosion, and Red Rock
National Parks, Monuments, and Refuges
Northern Arizona: Desert Light and High-Country Horizons
Shapes and Patterns: Natures Geometry
And these blogs — Newsletter: Verde Valley Trip