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〕 | highest = | highest_note = | highest_elevation_imperial= | highest_location = | lowest = | lowest_note = | lowest_location = | lowest_elevation_imperial = | area_imperial = 7500 | area_note = | biome = | map = Arizona Relief NED.jpg | map_caption = Relief map showing arc-shaped desert north and northeast of Mogollon Plateau and Mogollon Rim. }} The Painted Desert is a United States desert of badlands in the Four Corners area〔 (cited by Trimble ''The Sagebrush Ocean'', p. 10)〕 from the Grand Canyon National Park into the Petrified Forest National Park. Much of the area within the Petrified Forest National Park is protected as the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area.〔(Wilderness camping ) at NPS〕 Much of the Painted Desert region is within the Navajo Nation. ==Geology== The desert is composed of stratified layers of easily erodible siltstone, mudstone, and shale of the Triassic Chinle Formation. These fine grained rock layers contain abundant iron and manganese compounds which provide the pigments for the various colors of the region. Thin resistant lacustrine limestone layers and volcanic flows cap the mesas. Numerous layers of silicic volcanic ash occur in the Chinle and provide the silica for the petrified logs of the area. The erosion of these layers has resulted in the formation of the badlands topography of the region.〔Chronic, Halka, ''Pages of Stone: Geology of Grand Canyon & Plateau Country National Parks & Monuments,'' Mountaineers Books; 2nd ed., 2004, pp. 131–34 ISBN 978-0-89886-680-3〕〔Baars, Donald L., ''Navajo Country,'' University of New Mexico Press, 1995 pp. 47–53 ISBN 0-8263-1587-9〕〔Baars, Donald L., ''The Colorado Plateau: a Geologic History,'' University of New Mexico Press, 1983, pp. 163–68 ISBN 0-8263-0599-7〕 In the southern portions of the desert the remains of a Triassic period coniferous forest have fossilized over millions of years. Wind, water and soil erosion continue to change the face of the landscape by shifting sediment and exposing layers of the Chinle Formation. An assortment of fossilized prehistoric plants and animals are found in the region, as well as dinosaur tracks and the evidence of early human habitation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Painted Desert (Arizona)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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