Pipe Spring - a view looking west along the Vermilion Cliffs

This view is looking west along a south-facing escarpment of the Vermilion Cliffs west of Pipe Spring National Monument. The Vermilion cliffs consist of reddish-rust-colored layers Upper Triassic and Jurassic sedimentary rocks (shale of the Chinle Formation overlain by red sandstone of the Wingate and Moenave Formations). The rim of the escarpment is capped by light to white-colored layers of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone exposed along the mesa rim. The escarpment forms a natural barrier to travel along the northern margin of the Arizona Strip.