Red Rock Canyon State Park is located in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. The canyon is composed of sandstone cliffs thousand’s of feet high, resting on ancient limestone and topped with volcanic rock. Check out these amazing formations! They reminded me of The Valley of the Kings in Egypt. (Click to enlarge).

The formations are approximately 14 million years old. The park is full of fossilized dinosaurs including elephants, extinct rhinos, three-toed horses, saber-tooth tigers and much more. It contains the richest concentrations of fossilized flora and fauna in Western North America. It is still being excavated by the Museum of Natural History.

Check out the people climbing in one area of the park. I included them so you could how massive these structures are!

The canyon sits on top of what was once an ancient inland lake. It is composed of sedimentary and igneous rock layers.

The vibrant red colors in the rock are from leeching iron oxide.

Red Rock Canyon was lifted by three seismic faults which pushed ancient rock to the surface. Wind, rain and sand erosion carved the beautiful structures in the sandstone.

This area was used as a trade route by Native Americans for thousands of years and is home to delicate desert flora and fauna.

Winter is a great time to visit! It is empty and not too hot. Cheers to you from the pristine and empty Red Rock Canyon!