The
Painted Desert is a United States desert of badlands in the Four
Corners area from the Grand Canyon National Park into the Petrified
Forest National Park. Much of the area within the Petrified Forest
National Park is protected as the Petrified Forest National Wilderness
Area. Much of the Painted Desert region is within the Navajo Nation.
The desert is composed of stratified layers of easily erodible siltstone, mudstone, and shale of the Triassic Chinle Formation. These fine grained rock layers contain abundant iron and manganese compounds which provide the pigments for the various colors of the region.
The desert is composed of stratified layers of easily erodible siltstone, mudstone, and shale of the Triassic Chinle Formation. These fine grained rock layers contain abundant iron and manganese compounds which provide the pigments for the various colors of the region.
