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  • Erosion debris from petrified logs and the bentonite clay hills collects at the base of the badlands of the Blue Mesa in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
    AZ_Petrified-Forest_Blue-Mesa_Erosio...jpg
  • Several erosion patterns are visible on the steep exposed hillside of Rucker Hill in Everett, Washington, near where Pigeon Creek empties into Puget Sound. At the top of the frame, a blackberry branch swings back and forth like a pendulum, carving a semicircle into the hillside.
    WA_Rucker-Hill_Erosion_7166.jpg
  • A vibrant shaft of light shines on the floor of a particularly narrow section of Upper Antelope Canyon on Navajo tribal land in Page, Arizona. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." The slot canyon is formed primarily by erosion during flash floods; torrents of water race through the canyon and sculpt the sandstone.
    Antelope-Canyon_Beam_S2574-02.jpg
  • A vibrant shaft of light shines on the floor of a particularly narrow section of Upper Antelope Canyon on Navajo tribal land in Page, Arizona. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." The slot canyon is formed primarily by erosion during flash floods; torrents of water race through the canyon and sculpt the sandstone.
    Antelope-Canyon-Beam_S02-01-04.jpg
  • Moss, ferns, and trees grow from a large rock outcropping near the Minister Valley in Allegheny National Forest in Warren, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Front was once part of a vast delta and layers of a hard, sandstone congolomerate were deposited. Between 250 and 320 million years ago, the Allegheny Front was lifted, forming hills and mountains. Over time, erosion exposed, split, or dislodged and moved the former sedimentary rock, resulting in large rock outcroppings.
    PA_Allegheny_Outcropping_Roots_8652.jpg
  • The sun shines between a tree and a large rock outcropping in the Minister Valley area of the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Front was once part of a vast delta and layers of a hard, sandstone congolomerate were deposited. Between 250 and 320 million years ago, the Allegheny Front was lifted, forming hills and mountains. Over time, erosion exposed, split, or dislodged and moved the former sedimentary rock, resulting in large rock outcroppings.
    PA_Allegheny_Minister_Outcropping_86...jpg
  • This view of the southwestern side of Protection Island shows the erosion that has been reudcing the size of the island, located in Jefferson County, Washington. Protection Island, located at the mouth of Discovery Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is a 364-acre island that serves as pupping grounds for hundreds of harbor seals as well as a summer home for 72 percent of the seabirds that nest in the Puget Sound area.
    WA_ProtectionIsland_8257.jpg
  • Baring Creek flows through a very narrow gorge, called Sunrift Gorge, in Glacier National Park, Montana. The gorge has very smooth, straight sides because it eroded along vertical fractures in the rock known as joints. Sunrift Gorge began to form after large Pleistocene glaciers began to retreat from that area and with a maximum cut down rate of 0.003 inch per year, this gorge is the result of several millions of years of erosion.
    Glacier_SunriftGorge_0812.jpg
  • Pacific Ocean waves crash onto the Punalu`u Black Sand Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. The beach is near the Volcanoes National Park and the erosion from the ocean waves turns the volcanic rock into black sand.
    HI_BlackSandBeach_Punaluu_8881.jpg
  • Red clouds lit by the sunrise seem to swarm from the fossilized sand dunes known as the Beehives in the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. The dunes were formed by a proccess known as aeolian erosion.
    vof-beehives.jpg
  • Hundreds of hoodoos that make up the Bryce Canyon amphitheater are lit at sunrise. Bryce Canyon is national park in Utah. The hoodoos, or spires, are remanants of large sandstone fins that have been subjected to centuries of erosion.
    Bryce-Canyon_Amphitheater_Dawn_4388.jpg
  • The erosion patterns of the hills in the Sante Fe National Forest are visible in this aerial view captured from near El Valle, New Mexico.
    NM_Sante-Fe-Forest_Aerial_2409-BW.jpg
  • Several evergreen wood ferns (Dryopteris intermedia) grow on a mossy rock outcropping near the Minister Valley in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Front was once part of a vast delta and layers of a hard, sandstone congolomerate were deposited. Between 250 and 320 million years ago, the Allegheny Front was lifted, forming hills and mountains. Over time, erosion exposed, split, or dislodged and moved the former sedimentary rock, resulting in large rock outcroppings.
    PA_Allegheny_Minister_Fern_Rock_8643.jpg
  • Several evergreen wood ferns (Dryopteris intermedia) grow on a mossy rock outcropping near the Minister Valley in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Front was once part of a vast delta and layers of a hard, sandstone congolomerate were deposited. Between 250 and 320 million years ago, the Allegheny Front was lifted, forming hills and mountains. Over time, erosion exposed, split, or dislodged and moved the former sedimentary rock, resulting in large rock outcroppings.
    PA_Allegheny_Minister_Fern_Rock_8642.jpg
  • Paulina Creek drops 80 feet (24 meters) at Paulina Falls, located in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument in Deschutes County, Oregon. Paulina Falls is located on the west flank of the Newberry Volcano, a potentially active volcano that last erupted nearly 1,500 years ago. The waterfall flows over and erodes remnants of previous eruptions; over a period of 2,000 years, geologists believe the waterfall has moved 200 feet (61 meters) upstream due to erosion.
    OR_PaulinaFalls_Newberry_9870.jpg
  • Delicate Arch, reddened by the setting sun, frames the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Utah. Delicate Arch is a 65-foot-tall (20 meters) freestanding natural arch located in Arches National Park. Delicate Arch is comprised of Entrada Sandstone and formed the same way other arches formed in the national park. It began as a sandstone fin, which was gradually worn away by weathering and erosion, leaving the arch behind.
    ArchesNP_DelicateArch_F02_2576-04.jpg
  • A large rock is balanced on a sandstone pillar in the Hartnet Draw of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Balanced rocks form when a layer of more durable rock sits atop a layer that is less resistant to erosion.
    CapitolReefBalancedRock.jpg
  • Hundreds of hoodoos that make up the Bryce Canyon amphitheater are lit at sunrise. Bryce Canyon is national park in Utah. The hoodoos, or spires, are remanants of large sandstone fins that have been subjected to centuries of erosion.
    BryceCanyonAmphitheaterTight.jpg
  • Centuries of erosion from rain and wind have carved dramatic curves into a petrified sand dune known as "The Wave," located in the Coyote Buttes Wilderness in Arizona.
    WaveBasinArizona.jpg
  • Moss, ferns, and trees grow from a large rock outcropping near the Minister Valley in Allegheny National Forest in Warren, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Front was once part of a vast delta and layers of a hard, sandstone congolomerate were deposited. Between 250 and 320 million years ago, the Allegheny Front was lifted, forming hills and mountains. Over time, erosion exposed, split, or dislodged and moved the former sedimentary rock, resulting in large rock outcroppings.
    PA_Allegheny_Outcropping_Roots_8656.jpg
  • These tall, narrow pillars known as The Pinnacles were formed during the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Mazama, which formed Crater Lake, Oregon. Volcanic gasses rose through layers of dacite pumice and andesite scoria in vents known as fumaroles. With temperatures of 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 Celsius), the hot gasses welded the sides of the fumaroles. After erosion carried away the rest of the pumice and scoria, these hardened fossil fumaroles were all that remained.
    CraterLake_Pinnacles_9858.jpg
  • Large sand dunes form near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park, Califonria. The dunes are surrounded by mountains, though most of the sand is the result of the erosion of the Cottonwood Mountains, which lie to the north and northwest.
    DeathValley_Dunes_Stovepipe.jpg
  • Brown pelicans dive off Natural Bridge near Santa Cruz, California at sunset. There used to be three arches, but the second one collapsed in the early 1980s. The first collapsed even earlier. Arches or bridges form when waves continually pound a weak spot in the rock, wearing a hole through it. Over time, continued erosion enlarges the hole so much that the overlying rock can no longer be supported and it collapses. A bridge is a span that connects to the mainland; an arch stands by itself.
    CA_NaturalBridge_SantaCruz_0358.jpg
  • Pacific Ocean waves crash up against the one remaining arch in Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, California. There used to be three arches. Arches form when waves continually pound a weak spot in the rock, wearing a hole through it. Over time, continued erosion enlarges the hole so much that the overlying rock can no longer be supported and the arch collapses.
    CA_NaturalBridge_SantaCruz_0354.jpg
  • A natural bridge spans two towering hoodoos in the Wall Street section of Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. Bryce Canyon, which is actually a natural amphitheater, consists of dozens of spires separated by canyons. This span remains despite constant erosion.
    BryceCanyonArch.jpg
  • Centuries of erosion has carved a narrow canyon through a streaked, petrified sand dune in the Coyote Buttes Wilderness in Northern Arizona.
    WaveNarrowsVertical.jpg
  • Dark storm clouds hover over The Wave, petrified sand dunes that were carved by centuries of erosion from wind and heavy rain. The Wave is located in the Coyote Buttes Wilderness area of Arizona.
    Wave-DarkSky.jpg
  • Rock outcroppings provide a vantage point to take in a sweeping view of the Minister Valley in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Front was once part of a vast delta and layers of a hard, sandstone congolomerate were deposited. Between 250 and 320 million years ago, the Allegheny Front was lifted, forming hills and mountains. Over time, erosion exposed, split, or dislodged and moved the former sedimentary rock, resulting in large rock outcroppings.
    PA_Allegheny_MinisterValley_Overlook...jpg
  • Pacific Ocean waves crash up through Devils Churn, a narrow inlet on the Oregon coast near Yachats. Thousands of years of erosion carved an inlet that stretches for several hundred yards inland.
    OR_DevilsChurn_6122.jpg
  • Pacific Ocean waves crash into Devils Churn, a narrow inlet located on the Oregon coast south of Yachats. Devils Churn is located in the Siuslaw National Forest and is the result of thousands of years of erosion on the basalt shoreline.
    OR_DevilsChurn_6089.jpg
  • The standstone in a wash in the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada shows colorful streaked patterns. This wash is comprised of several different layers of sandstone, which have been exposed through erosion.
    vof-color-wash.jpg
  • Delicate Arch, reddened by the setting sun, frames the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Utah. Delicate Arch is a 65-foot-tall (20 meters) freestanding natural arch located in Arches National Park. Delicate Arch is comprised of Entrada Sandstone and formed the same way other arches formed in the national park. It began as a sandstone fin, which was gradually worn away by weathering and erosion, leaving the arch behind.
    ArchesNP_DelicateArch_F02_2576-02.jpg
  • A close-up of the Painted Hills in John Day National Monument, Oregon reveals their popcorn-like texture. This texture is the result of erosion. The cracks result from the drying of the soil after heavy rain; the deeper channels are caused by the run-off of heavy rain.
    OR_PaintedHills_Texture_3125.jpg
  • Brandywine Falls drops 65 feet (20 meters) into a lush gorge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. Brandywine Falls drops overs over three different types of rock: Berea sandstone at the top, Bedford shale in the middle and Cleveland shale at the bottom. The newest rock is about 320 million years old; the oldest is about 400 million. The layers were exposed and the waterfall was formed about 10,000 years ago when the last glaciers retreated from the area. The top Berea sandstone layer is the hardest and protects the softer layers below from the erosive force of the falling water.
    OH_Cuyahoga-Valley-NP_Brandywine-Fal...jpg
  • A long exposure captures the motion of Pacific Ocean waves crashing through the Hōlei Sea Arch in Volcanoes National Park, Hawai`i. The Hōlei Sea Arch is about 90 feet (27 meters) tall and quite young. The erosive force of the waves created the arch within the past 100 years. The lava cliff itself is only about 550 years old. Hōlei is the name for a small plant in the milkweed family.
    HI_Volcanoes_Holei-Sea-Arch_9022.jpg
  • The sea arch Porte d'Aval and the sea stack L'Aiguille (the Needle) stand in the Atlantic Ocean next to the cliffs of Étretat in Normandy, France. Porte d'Aval is most-widely known of the three natural sea arches that have formed in the white chalk cliffs, known as the Falaise d'Étretat, which are as tall as 90 meters (300 feet). L'Aiguille, or the Needle, rises 70 meters (230 feet) above the sea.
    Etretat_Porte-d'Aval_L'Aiguille_9577.jpg
  • The North and South Windows in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, are natural windows that eroded from the same Estrada sandstone fin.
    ArchesNP_Windows_F02_2576-03.jpg
  • The North and South Windows in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, are natural windows that eroded from the same Estrada sandstone fin.
    ArchesNP_Windows_F02_2576-06.jpg
  • A vibrant shaft of light illuminates a tumbleweed on the floor of Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon that was carved by violent flash floods. Beams of light form only when the sun is nearly overhead, lighting up the blowing sand that fills the canyon, which is dozens of feet deep. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks."
    AntelopeCanyon_Beam_Tumbleweed_0493.jpg
  • A vibrant shaft of light shines like a spotlight on the floor of Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon that was carved by violent flash floods. Beams of light form only when the sun is nearly overhead, lighting up the blowing sand that fills the canyon, which is dozens of feet deep. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks."
    Antelope-Canyon-Beam_S2574-09.jpg
  • A sandstone arch gently twists in the Narrows of the Valley of Fire, Nevada.
    VOF_ValleyOfFire_ContourArch_2009.jpg
  • A sandstone arch gently twists in the Narrows of the Valley of Fire, Nevada.
    VOF_ValleyOfFire_ContourArch_2004.jpg
  • SipapuBridgeV.jpg
  • The early morning sun shines through Mesa Arch, a natural sandstone arch located in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Washer Woman Arch is visible in the background, near the center of the image.
    Canyonlands_MesaArch.jpg
  • Three vibrant shafts of light appear in a narrow passage in Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon carved by violent flash floods in Page, Arizona. The beams form only when the sun is nearly overhead, lighting up the blowing sand that fills the canyon, which is dozens of feet deep. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks."
    AntelopeCanyonBeams.jpg
  • SipapuBridgeH.jpg
  • A large rock frames Weavers Needle, a distinctive 4,555-foot (1,388-meter) spire in the Superstition Wilderness in Arizona. Weavers Needle is made up of heavily-eroded fused volcanic ash, called tuff, and is a prominent and distictive peak that's visible for miles. It played a significant role in the stories of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, with its shadow supposedly pointing toward to golden treasure.
    Superstition-Wilderness_Weavers-Need...jpg
  • Numerous caves are visible a soft rock cliff wall in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. The national monument protects caves that were used by humans for shelters more than 11,000 years ago.
    NM_Bandelier_Wall-Texture_1635.jpg
  • A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) hunts for food on ths cliffs of Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County, Washington. Nearly three-quarters of the seabirds that nest in the Puget Sound area use Protection Island and they are a target for bald eagles.
    BaldEagle_Hunting_ProtectionIsland_6...jpg
  • A waterfall commonly referred to as Hug Point Falls flows past a cave at Hug Point on the Oregon coast. At high tide, Hug Point Falls empties directly into the Pacific Ocean. Such waterfalls are called tide falls.
    OR_HugPoint_Waterfall_Cave_5611.jpg
  • Strong winds shape a snowdrift at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. Relatively warm weather followed by freezing gives the snowdrift a hard crust.
    Snowdrift_Paradise_2326.jpg
  • The Box Canyon of Mount Rainier National Park is an area where the Muddy Fork of the Cowlitz River carved a narrow gorge more than a hundred feet deep, but only 15 to 30 feet wide.
    Rainier_BoxCanyon_3818.jpg
  • Two fulmars fly between the southern coast of Iceland and the Dyrhólaey peninsula. The peninsula features several sea arches, resulting its name, which means "the island with the hill door." During the early summer, thousands of fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) nest on rocky cliffs throughout Iceland.
    Iceland_Dyrholaey_Fulmars_7525.jpg
  • A very narrow canyon leads through a petrified sand dune, known as the Wave, in the Coyote Buttes Wilderness in northern Arizona.
    WaveNarrowCanyon.jpg
  • Flash floods eroded a wavy pattern into the narrow walls of this slot canyon in the Coyote Gulch of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.
    Grand-Staircase-Escalante_Wall-Curve...jpg
  • The Potomac River forms a number of small cascades as flows over large rocks in Great Falls Park, Maryland.
    Great-Falls-Park_Potomac-River_5108.jpg
  • A passage bends through a very narrow section of Upper Antelope Canyon on Navajo Nation land near Page, Arizona. Violent flash floods sculpt the sandstone, leaving undulating, layered walls. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks."
    Antelope-Canyon_Narrow-Passage_6255.jpg
  • The walls of an open area of Upper Antelope Canyon on Navajo Nation land near Page, Arizona, take on different colors based on how much direct sunlight they receive. Sections near the slot canyon ceiling appear yellow and gold, while portions in deep shadow are purple. Violent flash floods sculpt the sandstone, leaving undulating, layered walls. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks."
    Antelope-Canyon_Colorful-Chamber_709...jpg
  • A bright rainbow shines over the Atlantic Ocean near the Reynisdrangar sea stacks, also known as the Troll Rocks. The Troll Rocks are located near Vík, Iceland. According to Icelandic legend, the rocks are the remnants of trolls that were out fishing too late. The legend says trolls will turn to stone if they're exposed to daylight.
    Iceland_Vik_Troll-Rocks_Rainbow_2275...jpg
  • The Yakima River bends back on itself, nearly forming a circle near Ellensburg, Washington.
    WA_Yakima-River_Bend_Aerial_7498.jpg
  • The curved walls of Rattlesnake Canyon join to form abstract patterns on Navajo Nation land near Page, Arizona. Rattlesnake Canyon is a slot canyon — a narrow sandstone canyon that's carved by flash floods.
    AZ_Rattlesnake-Canyon_Curved-Walls_6...jpg
  • The rugged Deception Island is visible across Deception Pass from near North Beach in Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island, Washington.
    WA_Deception-Island_Deception-Pass_4...jpg
  • The Potomac River runs through a gorge in Great Falls Park located on the border of Virginia and Maryland. The northern gorge wall (on the right of this image) as well as the Potomac River are located in Maryland; the southern wall and most of the national park facilities are located in Virginia.
    Great-Falls-Park_Potomac-River_4219.jpg
  • Brandywine Creek streaks over a layer of Berea sandstone just before it plunges over Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio.
    OH_Cuyahoga-Valley-NP_Brandywine-Cre...jpg
  • Several layers of Berea sandstone are visible near the top of Brandywine Falls, a 60-foot (18-meter) waterfall located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. Brandywine Falls drops overs over three different types of rock: Berea sandstone at the top, Bedford shale in the middle and Cleveland shale at the bottom. The newest rock is about 320 million years old; the oldest is about 400 million. The layers were exposed and the waterfall was formed about 10,000 years ago when the last glaciers retreated from the area.
    OH_Cuyahoga-Valley-NP_Brandywine-Fal...jpg
  • Pink mountain heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis) grows in the cracks on the rocky hillside opposite of Mount Shuksan in the North Cascades of Washington state.
    Mount-Shuksan_Artist-Point_Pink-Moun...jpg
  • Viewed from the north, a forest is visible on the high bluffs of Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County, Washington. Protection Island, located at the mouth of Discovery Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is a 364-acre island that serves as pupping grounds for hundreds of harbor seals as well as a summer home for 72 percent of the seabirds that nest in the Puget Sound area.
    WA_ProtectionIsland_8180.jpg
  • The Boulder River squeezes through a narrow crack in the rock near Darrington in Washington's Central Cascades. The water's milky appearance is due to an extended exposure. A large cedar tree that fell in a storm is trapped by one of the large rocks in the river.
    BoulderRiver_NarrowPassage_Tree_9123.jpg
  • The wind blows blades of dried grass, which carve a light groove into a sand dune in the Juniper Dunes Wilderness near Pasco, Washington. The Juniper Dunes Wilderness is named for the western juniper trees that grow there, the northernmost cluster of such trees. Located in Franklin County, Washington, Juniper Dunes is a protected wilderness area that comprises 7,140 acres (28.9 km²). Some dunes in the area measure more than 130 feet (40 meters) in height and 1,000 feet (305 meters) in width. The dunes formed in what was essentially a flood basin at the end of the last ice age.
    JuniperDunes_GrassBlownByWind_5289.jpg
  • Balanced Rock (left), a prominent feature of Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, is turned red by the golden light of sunrise. The balanced rock is a cap rock that is 55 feet (17 meters) tall and makes up nearly half the overall height of the formation. The formation is made up of several layers of sandstone, which erode at different rates; the layer between the cap rock and the pedestal erodes at a much faster rate than the others.
    ArchesNP_BalancedRock_F02_2576-08.jpg
  • Balanced Rock, a prominent feature of Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, is turned red by the golden light of sunrise. The balanced rock is a cap rock that is 55 feet (17 meters) tall and makes up nearly half the overall height of the formation. The formation is made up of several layers of sandstone, which erode at different rates; the layer between the cap rock and the pedestal erodes at a much faster rate than the others.
    ArchesNP_BalancedRock_F02_2576-06.jpg
  • Wilson Mountain, the tallest of the red and white sandstone peaks near Sedona, Arizona, is framed by other formations. Wilson Mountain has an elevation of 7,122 feet (2171 meters), and its summit provides some of the grandest views in northern Arizona.
    AZ_WilsonMountain_Sedona_8968.jpg
  • Atlantic Ocean waves crash through an arch on the Dyrhólaey peninsula near Vík, Iceland. Dyrhólaey means "the hill island with the door-hole" and there are several arches in the peninsula, including one that is spectacularly large. The peninsula's basalt cliffs are as much as 120 meters (394 feet) tall.
    Iceland_Dyrholaey_Waves_Arch_2218.jpg
  • A bright rainbow shines over the Atlantic Ocean near the Reynisdrangar sea stacks, also known as the Troll Rocks. The Troll Rocks are located near Vík, Iceland. According to Icelandic legend, the rocks are the remnants of trolls that were out fishing too late. The legend says trolls will turn to stone if they're exposed to daylight.
    Iceland_TrollRocks_Rainbow_2275.jpg
  • Early morning light highlights the top of Eagle Falls, a waterfall in the Lake Tahoe area of California.
    CA_EagleFalls_Detail_9480.jpg
  • Several ring-billed and herring gulls fly over Dry Falls in Grant County, Washington, which at one time was believed to be the largest waterfall that ever existed. Geologists believe that during the last ice age, ice dams resulted in giant glacial lakes in eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana. When those dams failed, as they did dozens of times, glacial lakes Columbia and Missoula rapidly drained, creating a cataclysmic flood. During the floods, what is now Dry Falls was a spectacular waterfall, 400 feet high (121 meters), 3.5 miles wide (5.63 kilometers). Water may have raced over its massive cliffs at 65 miles an hour (105 km/hour), a flow that's estimated to be ten times as powerful as all the world's current rivers combined. The cliffs shown here represent a small fraction of the ice age waterfall. Dry Falls Lake is pictured in the foreground; Green Lake is visible in the background.
    WA_DryFalls_Gulls_5825.jpg
  • Several arches have been worn into a narrow slot canyon known as Peek-a-Boo Gulch, located in the Grand Staircase Escalante in Southern Utah.
    PeekABoo-Arches.jpg
  • The deep branches in the soil of the Painted Hills in John Day National Monument, Oregon illustrate the dendritic drainage pattern. Numerous feeder streams, creeks and rills flow into the main channel, resulting in a deep channel that resembles the branches of a tree.
    OR_PaintedHills_DendriticDrainage_31...jpg
  • Pacific Ocean waves carved a narrow inlet into the rocky shoreline at Yachats, Oregon. The wave action is blurred by an 8 second exposure.
    OR_DoubleArch_Yachats_Twilight_4289.jpg
  • The Waikato River drops 11 meters (36 feet) at Huka Falls near Taupo, New Zealand. Huka Falls is the largest waterfall along the river.
    NZ_HukaFalls_0875.jpg
  • The Kolob Canyons of Zion National Park, Utah, are turned golden red by the setting sun in this panoramic view.
    KolobCanyonPanorama.jpg
  • Hundreds of tall sand dunes form at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. Strong winds blow the sand from as much as 65 miles (105 km) away. These mountains block the wind's path, causing the sand to pile up in dunes.
    GreatSandDunes_Sunset_V_2268.jpg
  • The sand dunes of Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, are the tallest in North America Some of the sand originated from the San Juan Mountains, more than 65 miles west of the national park. Strong winds blow the sand, which piles up at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
    GreatSandDunes_Layers_2203.jpg
  • Clouds, lit by the full moon, streak by Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Thinner parts of the clouds caught the moons light; the streaks are the result of a four-minute exposure.
    DevilsTowerStreaks.jpg
  • The late afternoon sun shines through Delicate Arch, a freestanding natural arch in Arches National Park, Utah. The arch, approximately 65 feet (20 meters) tall, was carved by the wind from an Entrada sandstone fin.
    DelicateArchSunburst.jpg
  • The Three Graces reach high into the sky in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Three Graces are just one of many dramatic sandstone features of the park. According to geologists, the sedimentary rock was tilted by the forces that built nearby Pikes Peak and other mountains.
    CO_GardenGods_ThreeGraces_2320.jpg
  • The full moon sets over the Bryce Canyon amphitheater at sunrise. The Earth's shadow and a red band, known as the Belt of Venus, are visible just above the horizon. Bryce Canyon is a national park in Utah.
    BryceCanyonMoon.jpg
  • A narrow canyon winds through a petrified sand dune located at the Wave, Coyote Buttes Wilderness, northern Arizona.
    WaveCanyonAbove.jpg
  • A fiery fall sunrise lights up the sky above countless peaks that make up the Badlands in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
    Badlands_FierySunrise_1458.jpg
  • A sandstone arch in the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, frames a view of another arch.
    vof-archinarch.jpg
  • The North Window frames Turret Arch, one of about 2,000 arches located in Arches National Park, Utah.
    Arches_TurretArchThruWindow_4978.jpg
  • A slot canyon makes a sharp curve in Coyote Gulch, located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. The narrow sandstone canyon was carved by flash floods.
    Grand-Staircase-Escalante_Coyote-Gul...jpg
  • A small sandstone window frames a view of a narrow slot canyon in the Coyote Wash area of Grand Staircase National Monument in Utah. Flash floods carved narrow canyons in the sandstone.
    Grand-Staircase-Escalante_Coyote-Gul...jpg
  • A stream of water flows over river rocks along the Snoqualmie River near Fall City, Washington.
    Snoqualmie-River_Rocks_Fall-City_292...jpg
  • The badlands of the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, are turned red by the setting sun. Badlands are a type of dry terrain where clay or soft sedimentary rock have been heavily eroded by rain and wind and where vegetation is scarce.
    AZ_Petrified-Forest_Badlands_Sunset_...jpg
  • Atlantic Ocean waves flow into a sea cave in a basalt cliff near Hellnar on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in western Iceland.
    Iceland_Hellnar_Sea-Cave_9271.jpg
  • Colorful layers of siltstone, mudstone and shale are visible in the badlands near the Blue Mesa in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. The layers contain iron and manganese, which provide the pigments for the brilliant and varied colors.
    AZ_Petrified-Forest_Badlands_Painted...jpg
  • The walls of an open area of Upper Antelope Canyon on Navajo Nation land near Page, Arizona, take on different colors based on how much direct sunlight they receive. Sections near the slot canyon ceiling appear yellow and gold, while portions in deep shadow are purple. Violent flash floods sculpt the sandstone, leaving undulating, layered walls. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks."
    Antelope-Canyon_Textured-Walls_6218c.jpg
  • The walls of an open area of Upper Antelope Canyon on Navajo Nation land near Page, Arizona, take on different colors based on how much direct sunlight they receive. Sections near the slot canyon ceiling appear yellow and gold, while portions in deep shadow are purple. Violent flash floods sculpt the sandstone, leaving undulating, layered walls. The Navajo people call the canyon Tsé bighánílíní dóó Hazdistazí, which means "the place where water runs through rocks."
    Antelope-Canyon_Colorful-Chamber_622...jpg
  • Several western brackenferns (Pteridium aquilinum) grow from a crack in a steep rock face in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Lake Dorothy, Washington.
    WA-Alpine-Lakes_Ferns_Rock-Face_8054.jpg
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