Monument Valley
{{Short description|Region of the Colorado Plateau, US}}
{{about|the region of the Colorado Plateau||Monument Valley (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Monument Valley
| other_name = Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii
| etymology =
| native_name = {{native name|nv|Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii}}
| photo = Monument_Valley,_Utah,_USA_(23611451292).jpg
| photo_size = 275px
| photo_alt = View of West Mitten Butte, East Mitten Butte, and Merrick Butte
| photo_caption = View of West Mitten Butte, East Mitten Butte, and Merrick Butte in northeastern Arizona
| map = Arizona#United States
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| location = Arizona, United States
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| elevation_ft = 5000 to 6000
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| coordinates = {{coord|36|59|N|110|6|W|display=inline,title}}
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| type = Butte
| age =
| geology = Siltstone
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File:Forrest Gump Point Monument Valley November 2018 001.jpg, looking south on U.S. Route 163 from {{convert|13|mi}} north of the Utah–Arizona state line]]
File:The View Hotel in the Monument Valley Arizona.JPG from the View Hotel.]]
Monument Valley ({{langx|nv|Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii}}, {{IPA|nv|tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː|pron}}, meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching {{convert|1000|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the valley floor.{{Cite book |title=Natural Wonders of the World |publisher=Reader's Digest |year=1980 |isbn=978-0895770875 |editor-last=Scheffel |editor-first=Richard L. |pages=255 |editor-last2=Wernet |editor-first2=Susan J. }} The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.{{cite book|author= King, Farina |title= "Náhookọs (North): New Hioes for Diné Students." The Earth Memory Compass: Diné Landscapes and Education in the Twentieth Century|url= https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv6mtdsj|publisher=University Press of Kansas|year=2018|pages=142–74|doi= 10.2307/j.ctv6mtdsj|s2cid= 135010884}}
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its {{convert|5|mi2|km2|disp=sqbr|spell=in}} have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/features/2009/the_easy_rider_road_trip/monument_valley_where_peter_and_henry_fondas_careers_intersected.html |title=The Easy Rider Road Trip |first=Keith |last=Phipps |author-link=Keith Phipps |work=Slate |date=November 17, 2009 |access-date=December 16, 2012 }}
Geography and geology
Monument Valley is part of the Colorado Plateau. The elevation of the valley floor ranges from {{convert|5000|to|6000|ft|m}} above sea level. The floor is largely siltstone of the Cutler Group, 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-gray rocks in the valley get their color from manganese oxide.
The buttes arising from the valley floor are clearly stratified, with three principal layers. The lowest layer is the Organ Rock Shale, the middle is de Chelly Sandstone, and the top layer is the Moenkopi Formation capped by Shinarump Conglomerate. Major rock formations include West and East Mitten Buttes, Merrick Butte, Hunts Mesa, Eagle Mesa, Sentinel Mesa, Brighams Tomb, Castle Rock, Stagecoach, Big Indian, Rain God Mesa, Spearhead Mesa, Mitchell Mesa, Mitchell Butte, Gray Whiskers, Elephant Butte, Camel Butte, Cly Butte, King-on-his-Throne, Rooster Rock, and Setting Hen. Another notable formation is Totem Pole, a highly eroded butte remanent. The valley also includes large stone structures, such as the "Eye of the Sun".
Between 1945 and 1967, the southern extent of the Monument Upwarp was mined for uranium, which occurs in scattered areas of the Shinarump Conglomerate; vanadium and copper are associated with uranium in some deposits.{{cite news|author=Malan, Roger C. |date=1968|title=The uranium mining industry and geology of the Monument Valley and White canyon districts, Arizona and Utah|work=Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933–1967|location= New York|publisher= American Institute of Mining Engineers|pages=790–804}}
Tourism
File:Monument Valley, Apache scout.jpg
Monument Valley includes much of the area surrounding Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, a Navajo Nation equivalent to a national park. Oljato, for example, is also within the area designated as Monument Valley.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}
Visitors may pay an access fee and drive through the park on a {{convert|17|mi|km|adj=on}} dirt road. Parts of Monument Valley, such as Mystery Valley and Hunts Mesa, are accessible only by guided tour.
Climate
Monument Valley experiences a desert climate with cold winters and hot summers. While the summers may be hot, the heat is tempered by the region's high altitude. Although the valley experiences an average of 54 days above {{convert|90|°F|°C}} annually, summer highs rarely exceed {{convert|100|°F|°C}}. Summer nights are comfortably cool, and temperatures drop quickly after sunset. Winters are cold, but daytime highs are usually above freezing. Even in the winter, temperatures below {{convert|0|°F|°C}} are uncommon, although possible. Monument Valley receives an occasional light snowfall in the winter, but it usually melts within a day or two.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
{{Weather box
|width=auto
|location = Monument Valley, Arizona
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 60
|Feb record high F = 69
|Mar record high F = 77
|Apr record high F = 90
|May record high F = 99
|Jun record high F = 101
|Jul record high F = 107
|Aug record high F = 100
|Sep record high F = 97
|Oct record high F = 86
|Nov record high F = 73
|Dec record high F = 62
|year record high F = 107
|Jan avg record high F = 52.07
|Feb avg record high F = 59.41
|Mar avg record high F = 70.37
|Apr avg record high F = 80.04
|May avg record high F = 88.27
|Jun avg record high F = 96.64
|Jul avg record high F = 99.44
|Aug avg record high F = 96.13
|Sep avg record high F = 90.48
|Oct avg record high F = 80.36
|Nov avg record high F = 65.18
|Dec avg record high F = 51.89
|year avg record high F= 100.17
|Jan high F = 40.6
|Feb high F = 47.3
|Mar high F = 58.2
|Apr high F = 67.3
|May high F = 77.6
|Jun high F = 88.1
|Jul high F = 92.0
|Jul high C =33.3
|Aug high F = 88.8
|Sep high F = 80.6
|Oct high F = 67.9
|Nov high F = 51.5
|Dec high F = 40.9
|year high F = 66.7
|Jan low F = 24.3
|Feb low F = 28.2
|Mar low F = 35.5
|Apr low F = 42.4
|May low F = 52.3
|Jun low F = 63.1
|Jul low F = 67.0
|Aug low F = 63.9
|Sep low F = 57.3
|Oct low F = 45.1
|Nov low F = 32.9
|Dec low F = 24.6
|year low F = 44.7
|Jan avg record low F = 12.25
|Feb avg record low F = 15.25
|Mar avg record low F = 22.04
|Apr avg record low F = 28.69
|May avg record low F = 35.24
|Jun avg record low F = 47.08
|Jul avg record low F = 57.58
|Aug avg record low F = 54.73
|Sep avg record low F = 44.72
|Oct avg record low F = 32.61
|Nov avg record low F = 18.75
|Dec avg record low F = 12.78
|year avg record low F= 11.50
|Jan record low F = −8
|Feb record low F = −4
|Mar record low F = 9
|Apr record low F = 15
|May record low F = 20
|Jun record low F = 31
|Jul record low F = 49
|Aug record low F = 38
|Sep record low F = 33
|Oct record low F = 22
|Nov record low F = 6
|Dec record low F = −9
|year record low F = −9
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.26
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.19
|Mar precipitation inch = 0.19
|Apr precipitation inch = 0.24
|May precipitation inch = 0.30
|Jun precipitation inch = 0.10
|Jul precipitation inch = 0.54
|Aug precipitation inch = 0.79
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.73
|Oct precipitation inch = 0.68
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.32
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.19
|year precipitation inch = 4.54
|source 1 = The Western Regional Climate Center{{cite web
| url =http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?az5665| title =Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information | access-date=2013-03-24 | publisher =Western Regional Climate Center }}
|date=March 2013
}}
In visual media
{{Main|List of appearances of Monument Valley in the media}}
Monument Valley has been featured in numerous computer games, in print, and in motion pictures, including multiple Westerns directed by John Ford that influenced audiences' view of the American West, such as: Stagecoach (1939), My Darling Clementine (1946), Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and The Searchers (1956).{{cite news|url=https://cnx.org/contents/aHhIy1gA@1/Ford-s-consistent-use-of-popular-imagery-in-Western-and-Non-Western-films|title=Ford's consistent use of popular imagery in Western and Non-Western films|work=The Influence of Western Painting and Genre Painting on the Films of John Ford|author=Howze, William |date=September 2, 2011|edition=Revised}} "Ford is popularly regarded as a director of westerns, the director who made John Wayne a star and made Monument Valley the locus for the myth of the American West. It was a reputation he encouraged. 'My name's John Ford – I make westerns', he once said by way of introduction.1 Among his most popular westerns are Staqecoach (1939), My Darlinq Clementine (1946), Fort Apache (1947), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).
"Western or non-western, Ford's films exhibit characteristics that transcend those categories. Critics have recognized Ford's preoccupation with the traditional values of home and country, whether the country is Ireland or the United States; they have characterized his heroes as loners, men disappointed with life in some way that is only implied; and they have enumerated the elements of a typical Ford film: Monument Valley, the Seventh Cavalry, a fight, a dance, a wedding, a funeral, and the members of the so-called John Ford Stock Company, actors who appeared again and again in his films: John Wayne, Victor McLaglen, Henry Fonda, Ward Bond, Olive Carey, Harry Carey, Jr., John Qualen, and Hank Worden among others.{{cite news|url=https://medium.com/@DavidA.Punch/stagecoach-defining-the-western-1a330b451d19|work=Medium|title=Stagecoach: Defining the Western, How John Ford's 1939 western classic transformed the dying genre into the epitome of American cinema|author=Punch, David A. |date=September 2, 2018}} "Monument Valley resides on the Utah–Arizona border, within the territory of the Navajo Reservation. Encompassing approximately 30,000 acres, the land is noteworthy for its incredible sandstone buttes, which reach as high as 1,000 ft. Realizing how magnificent the location would be for a western picture, resident Harry Goulding approached John Ford about shooting his next film there. After previewing the landscape through some pictures Goulding brought along with him, Ford was certain he wanted to film Stagecoach there. Some of the motivation for that was the remoteness of the location. Hundreds of miles away from any form of civilization, it certainly discouraged nosey producers from prying, though the natural beauty of the terrain was a deciding factor. It became his preferred location for shooting westerns; Ford favored its majesty over accuracy in films like My Darling Clementine (1946), set in Tombstone, Arizona, and The Searchers, which substitutes the location for practically everywhere the characters travel to. The expansive countryside embodied the untamed potential of the western frontier so vividly it has become the iconic image of the west. Ford's discovery of Monument Valley was crucial in piecing together his image of the frontier — a vision which has become the defining portrait of the American West."{{cite journal|title=The Still Point: Women in the Westerns of John Ford|author= Movshovitz, Howard|journal=Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies|volume= 7| number=3, Women on the Western Frontier |date=1984|pages= 68–72|publisher= University of Nebraska Press|doi= 10.2307/3346245|jstor=3346245}}
Many more recent movies, with other directors, were also filmed in Monument Valley, including Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), the first Spaghetti Western to be filmed (in 1967) outside Europe, and Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger (2013).{{cite web |url=https://www.arizonahighways.com/blog/50-years-ago-two-iconic-films-featured-monument-valley |title=50 Years Ago, Two Iconic Films Featured Monument Valley|date=2017-06-05}}
Gallery
Monument Valley (14).jpg|Monument Valley, the Thumb
Mittens and Merrick after Sunset.jpg|West, East Mittens and Merrick Butte after sunset
Snow covered Monument Valley sunrise in January.jpg| Snow-covered Monument Valley sunrise in January
Monument Valley, 6AM.jpg|Monument Valley West and East Butte at 6:00 am
Sandstorm in Monument Valley, Arizona - Utah, USA.jpg|Sandstorm in Monument Valley
Monument Valley, Utah, USA - 23638754781.jpg|Vegetation of Monument Valley
Monument Valley, Utah, USA - 23426578800.jpg|Monument Valley landscape
Golden_Monument_Valley (cropped).jpg|View on the Monument Valley from Hunts mesa
Monument Valley rock formation.jpg|Monument Valley rock formation
Mystery Valley, Monument Valley, 2005 (1).jpg|Mystery Valley
= Panorama =
{{Panorama
| image = Monument_Valley_Panorama,_Navajo_Tribal_Park,_AZ-UT.jpg
| height = 190
}}{{Panorama
| image = Monument Valley Panorama.jpg
| height = 225
}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|author=Harvey, Thomas J. |title=Rainbow Bridge to Monument Valley: Making the Modern Old West|date=2011|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0806141909|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12891579-rainbow-bridge-to-monument-valley}}
- {{Citation | last = McPherson | first = Robert S. | title = Utah History Encyclopedia | publisher = University of Utah Press | year = 1994 | chapter = Monument Valley | chapter-url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/m/MONUMENT_VALLEY.shtml | url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250318075643/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/m/MONUMENT_VALLEY.shtml | archive-date = March 18, 2025 | isbn =9780874804256 | access-date = May 7, 2025}}
External links
{{Commons|Monument Valley}}
{{wikivoyage}}
- {{cite web|url=https://www.monument-valley.com |title=Monument Valley Tours & Tickets|website= Travel Guide }}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.whentobewhere.com/travel-listing/monument-valley |title=Complete Monument Valley Guide: Drive, Hotels, Camping, Seasons |website=When To Go |date=2017-11-12}}
- {{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Monument%20Valley,%20Utah,%20USA |website=IMDb |title=List of movies and television shows with scenes in Monument Valley}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/monument_valley/ |website=American Southwest Guide|title=Monument Valley}}
- {{cite web|url=https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/monument-valley/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104032756/http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-01-04 |website=Navajo Nation Parks|title=Monument Valley}}
- {{cite web|url=http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/monumental |title=Photographs and documents of pre-automobile access Monument Valley from the Monument Highway Digital Collection|website= Utah State University}}
- {{cite web|website=Energy Information Administration |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/umtra/monument_valley_title1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031014093333/http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/umtra/monument_valley_title1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-10-14 |title=Uranium mining in Monument Valley and its decommissioning}}
{{Arizona}}
{{Utah}}
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Category:Native American culture
Category:Landforms of Apache County, Arizona
Category:Landforms of Navajo County, Arizona
Category:Rock formations of Arizona
Category:Rock formations of Utah
Category:Landforms of San Juan County, Utah
Category:Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America
Category:Protected areas of Apache County, Arizona
Category:Protected areas of Navajo County, Arizona
Category:Protected areas of San Juan County, Utah
Category:Sacred mountains of the United States