Red and Purple Rock Ridges
© Scott Smith/Corbis Documentary/Getty Images
Ridges of red
Chiselled cliffs like this are a common sight here in Utah's curiously named Capitol Reef National Park. Neither underwater nor near any capitol building, the park is actually named after both its treacherous terrain (settlers used the term "reef" to refer to rocky ridges that made much of this area impassable) and its stately stone domes that bring to mind a famous landmark in Washington, DC. Those big white domes stand in stark contrast to rust-tinted cliffs like this one, owing to the park's unique and once highly active geology. Capitol Reef is composed of many distinct layers of sediment extending kilometres below the surface and tilted at an angle. Erosion and tectonics exposed layers at differing rates over millions of years, causing huge variations in both elevation and colour.
Spitzkoppe rock formations sunset, Erongo Region, Namibia
Henry Mountains Desert Badlands Sunset, Utah
White Desert chalk pillars, sunset, White Desert National Park, Egypt
Remarkable Rocks sunset, Kangaroo Island
Zabriskie Point badlands, pink purple clouds, Death Valley National Park, California
Rocky peak of Mount Segla, Norway
Loch Etive with autumn island, Scotland
White and Orange Layered Rock Desert Formations
