In Monsoon Light

Artwork ID # 2306-31626-6

After JMW Turner

For a few seconds a brilliant beam of sunlight pierced the darkness of this monsoon storm. Suddenly, a magical envelope of light appeared over the dunes, the cliffs, and clouds. This atmospheric lens revealed the deep vermilion color for which this wilderness area is named.
The Vermilion Cliffs were laid down during the Triassic and Jurassic periods {(225 - 145 million years ago ) and were characterized by sand dunes, floodplains, beaches and coastal plains of the Interior Seaway.

ArizonaVermilion Cliffs WildernessBLMVermilion Cliffs National Monumentwilderness areaescarpmentNavajo sandstonearroyocliffCalifornia condorAncestral Puebloan peoplePaiute peoplepetroglyphsmonsoonstormcolorfulsand dunevibrantgeologyhueorangevermilionyellowpinkreddesertbighorn sheepParia Plateau

From Wilderness Series Archive - "An ARCHIVE of every WILDERNESS SERIES image"