Photo Credit: feelgraphix
America’s Southwest is home to some absolutely incredibly stunning scenery, including lots of fiery red rock formations, magnificent waterfalls an dark, starry nights. These especially beautiful Southwest scenes are destinations that everyone should visit at least once, including Havasu Falls pictured above, located in a remote area of the Grand Canyon on the Havasupai Native Reservation. The crystal clear, turquoise waters plunge dramatically down the fiery red cliffs into travertine swimming holes at the bottom.
The Night’s Sky at Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
Photo Credit: CDN
In 2006, Natural Bridges National Monument in southeast Utah became the first International Dark Sky Park certified by the International Dark Sky Association. Imagine sitting on a warm summer evening, looking through one of these massive natural bridges hidden in a canyon where it’s possible to see up to 15,000 stars throughout the night.
Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Photo Credit: Flickr: Moyan Brenn
Monument Valley, Arizona
Photo Credit: Flickr: Wolfgang Staudt
Monument Valley is one of the most iconic images of American West with the elements carving the gargantuan red-sandstone monoliths into fascinating formations, some of which rise hundreds of feet above the desert floor.
Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Photo Credit: donzecklenscap
A dramatic sunset at Fire Wave in Valley of Fire State Park, a 42,000-acre park filled with 150 million-year-old sandstone formations and 3,000 year-old-petroglyphs.
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
Photo Credit: enchanted-villa.com
The dunes at White Sands National Monument glisten like arctic snow. They engulf 275-square miles of desert just north of the Mexico border near Alamogordo, creating the largest gypsum dune field on earth.
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Photo Credit: Jack Bauer
Cliff Palace was home to ancestral Puebloans. It contains 150 rooms, 23 kivas and once had a population of roughly 100 residents.
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Photo Credit: wallpaperup
Bryce Canyon isn’t actually a canyon, but the breathtaking edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, where intricately carved towers and archways of stone glisten in a stunning array of colors under the intense sun.
Sedona Canyon Waterfall, Arizona
Photo Credit: Fred Miranda
This “secret” waterfall is hidden in a Sedona canyon.