The World's Most Beautiful Places
The Palouse Region of Washington state as viewed from Steptoe Butte. The Palouse is a rich agricultural region bordering Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, known for the growing of wheat and legumes. Its also known for its famous barns, and colorful rolling green hills, particularly in springtime.
South Window Arch at Sunrise in Arches National Park, outside of Moab, Utah. Part of Colorado Plateau, and the Desert Southwest. The geologic Entrada sandstone layer that covers much of the park is ideal for creating natural sandstone arches over thousands and millions of years, through a combination of wind and water erosion, as well as the seasonal freeze and thaw cycle.
The sun rises over a colorful dry desert wash in the Valley of Fire, near Las Vegas Nevada. The Valley of Fire State Park covers an area of more than 49,000 acres, and offers of 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.