Key Information
Monument Valley
| Type | Plateau with sandstone buttes and mesas |
| Elevation | 5,000 to 6,000 ft |
| Area | 12.32 square miles |
| Native Name | Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii |
Learning Point
- Monument Valley, located on the Colorado Plateau along the Arizona-Utah border within the Navajo Nation, is an iconic landscape defined by striking red sandstone buttes and mesas that tower up to 1,000 feet above the desert floor. Formed through millions of years of sediment deposition, tectonic uplift, and water erosion, the valley’s distinct layers – colored red by iron oxide and dark gray by manganese oxide – reveal a dramatic geological history. Long before it became the quintessential backdrop for classic Hollywood Westerns, the valley was and remains sacred to the Navajo people, who continue to manage and protect its breathtaking natural heritage.
Project
- Draw a picture of Monument Valley with a family of the Navajo journeying through it.
- Overview
- Buttes and Mesas
Butte
Mesa
Location
| Location | Arizona, United States |
Fun Facts
- Monument Valley has starred in dozens of famous Hollywood cowboy movies since the 1930s, making it the most famous image of the American West in the world!
- Two of the most famous rock towers are called the Mitten Buttes because they look like giant stone mittens with thumbs sticking out sideways.
- The towering red rocks are made of stacked sedimentary rock layers formed by ancient rivers and deserts millions of years ago.
- The valley sits entirely within the Navajo Nation reservation who call it Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii (meaning “valley of the rocks”).
- Even though it gets quite hot in the summer, the valley floor sits way up high in the sky – between 5,000 and 6,000 feet above sea level, which is higher than the top of many mountains!
Past Lessons
| 188 | October 19, 2026 | (North America) |