The Fire Wave at sunset, Valley of Fire, Las Vegas, Nevada. The Valley of Fire State Park covers an area of more than 49,000 acres, and offers a varied landscape, flat open desert, colorful sandstone rock strata, the written remains of ancient native american tribes, and beautiful isolated canyons and ravines that offer recreational opportunities and shelter a variety of plant and wildlife species. The Valley of Fire is part of the Mojave Desert, and lies at an elevation from 1,320–3,009. The park is also part of the Virgin River drainage, which originates east of Zion National Park in Utah, and forms part of the vast Colorado River Basin that eventually drains into the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) in Mexico.