2022-08-30 11:05:23
Fiery red cliffs. Teal blue waters. Royal purple wildflowers. In every direction, in every season, Arizona is a dreamscape of astonishing colors, all brought to life by the wonder of nature. Saw something stunning on Instagram? It’s even better in real life. We’re talking rainbow-like badlands that hardly seem real and colorful canyons that compete with the colors of the sunset. Where will you discover inspiration next? Whether it’s in the pastel desert, atop a forested mountaintop or beneath the ink black cathedral of a nighttime sky, this is the place to let your true colors shine. We’ll do the same. Every February through April, wildflowers drape the rolling hillsides of McDowell Sonoran Preserve. See Mexican gold poppies, lupine, wholly daisy and purple owl’s clover. Sedona’s signature Cathedral Rock rises from the desert in all its blazing red glory—the result of iron oxide, caused by the weathering of natural chemicals. The Painted Desert at Petrified Forest National Park features badlands striped in lavender, gray, rust and cream colors, due to stratified layers of siltstone, shale, sandstone and mudstone sculpted by millions of years of erosion. Spring-fed waters rich in minerals such as calcium carbonate lend a turquoise hue to the Little Colorado River, one of the largest tributaries of the Grand Canyon.
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