Southwest Landscapes
Here are a selection of places that best represent the classic Southwest landscapes, including deserts, canyons, ghost towns and ancient ruins. See the subsection pages for more details.
Contents: Ancient Ruins | Arches | Badlands | Beaches | Cacti | Canyons | Caves | Deserts | Fossils | Ghost Towns | Lakes | Mountains | Red Rocks | Sand Dunes | Scenic Drives | Trees | Volcanic Areas and Craters | Waterfalls
- AZ: Canyon De Chelly National Monument
- AZ: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
- AZ: Montezuma Castle National Monument
- AZ: Navajo National Monument
- AZ: Painted Rock Petroglyph Site
- AZ: Tonto National Monument
- AZ: Tumacacori National Historical Park
- AZ: Tuzigoot National Monument
- AZ: Walnut Canyon National Monument
- AZ: Wupatki National Monument
- CA: Volcanic Tableland
- CO: Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
- CO, UT: Hovenweep National Monument
- CO: Mesa Verde National Park
- NM: Aztec Ruins National Monument
- NM: Bandelier National Monument
- NM: Chaco Culture National Historical Park
- NM: Crow Canyon Petroglyphs
- NM: El Morro National Monument
- NM: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
- NM: Jemez Historic Site
- NM: Petroglyph National Monument
- NM: Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
- NV: Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area
- TX: Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
- UT: Anasazi State Park Museum
- UT: Beef Basin
- UT: Cedar Mesa, Grand Gulch and Comb Ridge
- UT: Horseshoe Canyon, Canyonlands National Park
- UT: McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs
- UT: Montezuma Canyon
- UT: Parowan Gap
- UT: Sego Canyon
- AZ: Tonto Natural Bridge State Park
- CA: Alabama Hills
- UT: Arches National Park
- UT: Cassidy Arch, Capitol Reef National Park
- UT: Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef National Park
- UT: Grosvenor Arch, Grand Staircase-Escalante
- UT: Mamie Creek Natural Bridge, Grand Staircase-Escalante
- UT: Morning Glory Arch, Moab
- UT: Phipps Arch and Maverick Bridge, Grand Staircase-Escalante
- UT: Natural Bridges National Monument
- UT: Shakespeare Arch, Kodachrome Basin State Park
- AZ: Coal Mine Canyon
- AZ: Ha Ho No Geh Canyon
- CA: Red Rock Canyon State Park
- NM: Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area
- NM: Angel Peak Scenic Area
- NM: Bisti Wilderness Area
- NM: Burnham Badlands
- NM: Ceja Pelon Mesa
- NM: De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area
- NM: Fossil Forest
- NM: Lybrook Badlands
- NM: Ojito Wilderness Area
- NM: Penistaja Mesa
- NM: San Jose Badlands
- NM: San Juan Basin Badlands
- UT: Factory Butte
- UT: Fantasy Canyon
- UT: Paria Rimrocks
- CA: Andrew Molera State Park
- CA: Big Sur
- CA: Cabrillo National Monument
- CA: Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
- CA: Estero Bluffs State Park
- CA: Garrapata State Park
- CA: Gaviota State Park
- CA: Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- CA: Harmony Headlands State Park
- CA: Humboldt Lagoons State Park
- CA: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
- CA: La Jolla Tide Pools
- CA: Lost Coast
- CA: MacKerricher State Park
- CA: Mendocino Headlands State Park
- CA: Montaña de Oro State Park
- CA: Morro Bay State Park
- CA: Patricks Point State Park
- CA: Point Arena
- CA: Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park
- CA: Point Lobos State Reserve
- CA: Point Reyes National Seashore
- CA: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
- CA: Salt Point State Park
- CA: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- CA: Sonoma Coast State Park
- CA: Tomales Bay State Park
- CA: Torrey Pines State Reserve
- CA: Trinidad State Beach
- OR: Cape Arago State Park
- OR: Cape Sebastian State Scenic Corridor
- OR: Coquille Point and Face Rock Beach
- OR: Crook Point and Mack Reef
- OR: Floras Lake State Park and Blacklock Point
- OR: Harris Beach State Park and Chetco Point
- OR: Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
- OR: Pacific Coast of South Oregon
- OR: Port Orford Heads State Park
- OR: Samuel H Boardman State Scenic Corridor
- OR: Shore Acres State Park
- OR: Sunset Bay State Park
- TX: Padre Island National Seashore
- AZ: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
- AZ: Bartlett Reservoir
- AZ: Catalina State Park
- AZ: Lost Dutchman State Park
- AZ: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- AZ: Saguaro National Park
- AZ: Tonto National Forest
- CA: Joshua Tree National Park
- TX: Big Bend National Park
- AZ: Aravaipa Canyon
- AZ: Blue Canyon
- AZ: Canyon De Chelly National Monument
- AZ: Coal Mine Canyon
- AZ: Grand Canyon National Park
- AZ: Lees Ferry Canyons
- AZ: Madera Canyon
- AZ: Ramsey Canyon
- AZ: Sabino Canyon
- AZ: Sedona
- AZ: Sycamore Canyon
- CA: Indian Canyons, Palm Springs
- CA: Kings Canyon National Park
- CA: Yosemite National Park
- CO: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- CO: Colorado National Monument
- CO: Curecanti National Recreation Area
- CO: McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area
- NM: Cimarron Canyon State Park
- NM: Wild Rivers Recreation Area
- TX: Big Bend National Park
- TX: Caprock Canyons State Park
- TX: Palo Duro Canyon State Park
- UT: Bryce Canyon National Park
- UT: Canyonlands National Park
- UT: Canyon Rims Recreation Area
- UT: Dark Canyon
- UT: Dead Horse Point State Park
- UT: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- UT: Red Canyon
- UT: Zion National Park
- WY: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
- WY: Sinks Canyon State Park
- CA: Lava Beds National Monument
- NM: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- NV: Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park
- OR: Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve
- UT: Timpanogos Cave National Monument
- AZ: Agua Fria National Monument
- AZ: Bartlett Reservoir
- AZ: Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness
- AZ: Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge
- AZ: Estrella Mountain Regional Park
- AZ: Ironwood Forest National Monument
- AZ: Jewel of the Creek Preserve
- AZ: Kofa National Wildlife Refuge
- AZ: Lost Dutchman State Park
- AZ: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- AZ: Saguaro National Park
- AZ: San Tan Mountain Regional Park
- AZ: Sonoran Desert National Monument
- AZ: Superstition Mountains
- AZ: Tonto National Forest
- AZ: Tortolita Mountains
- AZ: Tucson Mountain Park
- AZ: Usery Mountain Regional Park
- AZ: White Tank Mountain Regional Park
- CA: Algodones Dunes
- CA: Anza Borrego Desert State Park
- CA: Death Valley National Park
- CA: Jacumba Outstanding Natural Area
- CA: Joshua Tree National Park
- CA: Mojave National Preserve
- CA: Mojave Trails National Monument
- CA: Pinnacles National Natural Landmark
- CA: Rainbow Basin National Natural Landmark
- CA: Salton Sea
- NV: Basin and Range National Monument
- NV: Gold Butte National Monument
- NV: Black Rock Desert
- NV: Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
- NV: Whitney Pockets
- OR: The Southeast
- TX: Big Bend National Park
- TX: Black Gap Wildlife Management Area
- UT: Salt Lake Desert
- AZ: Petrified Forest National Park
- CO: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
- ID: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
- NM: Fossil Forest
- NV: Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
- OR: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
- TX: Dinosaur Valley State Park
- UT: Dinosaur National Monument
- UT: Escalante State Park
- WY: Fossil Butte National Monument
- AZ: Alamo Lake State Park
- AZ: Bartlett Reservoir
- AZ: Lake Havasu
- AZ: Lake Pleasant
- AZ: Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- AZ: Lake Mojave
- AZ: Patagonia Lake State Park
- AZ: San Carlos Lake
- AZ: Theodore Roosevelt Lake
- AZ: Watson Lake
- CA: Big Pine Lakes
- CA: Crowley Lake Columns
- CA: Lake Tahoe
- CA: Lassen Volcanic National Park - Cold Boiling Lake and Crumbaugh Lake
- CA: Lassen Volcanic National Park - Terrace, Shadow and Cliff Lakes
- CA: Mammoth Lakes
- CA: Mono Lake
- CA: Salton Sea
- CA: Sequoia National Park - Lakes Trail
- CA: Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area
- CA: Yosemite National Park - Cathedral Lakes
- CA: Yosemite National Park - Dog Lake
- CA: Yosemite National Park - Elizabeth Lake
- CA: Yosemite National Park - Gaylor Lakes
- CA: Yosemite National Park - Lukens Lake
- CA: Yosemite National Park - May Lake
- CO: Arapaho National Recreation Area
- CO: Curecanti National Recreation Area
- CO: Rocky Mountain National Park - Bierstadt Lake
- CO: Rocky Mountain National Park - Chasm Lake
- CO: Rocky Mountain National Park - Gem Lake
- CO: Rocky Mountain National Park - Timber Lake
- CO: Rocky Mountain National Park - Ypsilon and Spectacle Lakes
- CO: San Juan Mountains - Ice Lake
- NM: Bluewater Lake State Park
- NM: Bottomless Lakes State Park
- NM: Elephant Butte Lake State Park
- NM: Navajo Lake State Park
- NV: Cave Lake State Park
- NV: Lahontan State Recreation Area
- NV: Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park
- NV: Pyramid Lake
- NV: Washoe Lake State Park
- TX: Amistad National Recreation Area
- TX: Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
- UT: Antelope Island State Park
- UT: Bear Lake
- UT: Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
- UT: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- WY: Boysen State Park
- WY: Grand Teton National Park - Amphitheater Lake
- WY: Grand Teton National Park - Taggart Lake and Bradley Lake
- WY: Yellowstone National Park - Duck Lake
- WY: Yellowstone National Park - Heart Lake
- WY: Yellowstone National Park - Ice Lake
- WY: Yellowstone National Park - Lost Lake
- WY: Yellowstone National Park - Riddle Lake
- WY: Yellowstone National Park - Shoshone Lake
- AZ: Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness
- AZ: Cochise Stronghold
- AZ: Mount Lemmon
- AZ: Picacho Peak State Park
- AZ: San Francisco Peaks
- AZ: South Mountain Park
- AZ: Superstition Mountains
- AZ: White Tank Mountain Regional Park
- CA: Big Pine Lakes
- CA: Castle Crags State Park
- CA: Eastern Sierra
- CA: Kings Canyon National Park
- CA: Lake Tahoe
- CA: Onion Valley
- CA: San Bernardino Mountains
- CA: San Gabriel Mountains
- CA: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- CA: Sequoia National Park
- CA: Yosemite National Park
- CO: Golden Gate Canyon State Park
- CO: Independence Pass
- CO: Maroon Bells
- CO: Mount Evans
- CO: Pikes Peak
- CO: Rocky Mountain National Park
- CO: San Juan Mountains
- NM: Aguirre Spring Recreation Area
- NM: Jemez Mountains
- NV: Great Basin National Park
- NV: Mount Charleston
- TX: Davis Mountains State Park
- TX: Franklin Mountains State Park
- TX: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- UT: Dixie National Forest
- UT: Henry Mountains
- UT: La Sal Mountains
- UT: Mount Timpanogos Region
- UT: Nebo Loop Scenic Byway
- UT: Uinta Mountains
- UT: Wasatch Mountain State Park
- WY: Grand Teton National Park
- WY: Wind River Range
- AZ: Blue Canyon
- AZ: Coyote Buttes
- AZ: Red Rock State Park
- AZ: Sedona
- CA: Red Rock Canyon State Park
- CO: Colorado National Monument
- CO: Garden of the Gods
- CO: Gateway Canyons
- NV: Bowl of Fire
- NV: Little Finland
- NV: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
- NV: Valley of Fire State Park
- UT: Buckskin Hollow
- UT: Canyonlands National Park
- UT: Fisher Towers
- UT: Goblin Valley State Park
- UT: Little Egypt
- UT: Moab
- UT: Monument Valley
- UT: Red Canyon
- UT: Red Cliffs Recreation Area
- UT: Valley of the Gods
- TX: Caprock Canyons State Park
- TX: Palo Duro Canyon State Park
- UT: Yant Flat Cliffs
- CA: Algodones Dunes
- CA: Death Valley
- CA: Mojave National Preserve - Kelso Dunes
- CO: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
- NM: White Sands National Park
- OR: Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
- TX: Monahans Sandhills State Park
- UT: Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
- UT: Little Sahara Recreation Area
- UT: Sand Hollow State Park
- AZ: The Apache Trail
- AZ: Catalina Highway (Mount Lemmon)
- AZ: Puerto Blanco Drive, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- AZ: Route 66
- CA: Lassen Volcanic National Park
- CA: Mojave National Preserve
- CA: Route 66
- CO: Independence Pass
- CO: San Juan Mountains
- NV: Great Basin National Park
- NV: Scenic Drives
- NM: Chaco Culture National Historical Park
- NM: Route 66
- NM: Santa Fe to Roswell - Road Trip
- NV: Valley of Fire State Park
- TX: Big Bend Ranch State Park
- UT: Alpine Loop, Mount Timpanogos
- UT: Buckhorn Draw Road, San Rafael Swell
- UT: Burr Trail
- UT: Cottonwood Canyon Road
- UT: Hells Backbone Road
- UT: Hole-in-the-Rock Road
- UT: Kolob Terrace Road, Zion National Park
- UT: Nebo Loop Scenic Byway
- UT: Potash Road, Moab
- UT: Smoky Mountain Road, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- UT: Valley Drive, Monument Valley
- WY: Teton Park Road
- CA: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
- CA: Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- CA: Calaveras Big Trees State Park
- CA: Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
- CA: Giant Sequoia National Monument
- CA: Grant Grove, Kings Canyon National Park
- CA: Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park
- CA: Humboldt Redwoods State Park
- CA: Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
- CA: Joshua Tree National Park
- CA: Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park
- CA: Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve
- CA: Tuolumne Grove, Yosemite National Park
- CA: Muir Woods National Monument
- CA: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
- CA: Redwood National and State Parks
- CA: Sequoia National Park
- CA: Torrey Pines State Reserve
- TX: Lost Maples State Natural Area
- TX: Palmetto State Park
- AZ: Meteor Crater
- AZ: Red Mountain
- AZ: Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
- AZ: Lava Falls Trail, Tuweep, Grand Canyon
- CA: Amboy Crater, Mojave National Preserve
- CA: Devils Postpile National Monument
- CA: Hat Creek Volcanic Area
- CA: Hot Creek Geological Area
- CA: Lassen Volcanic National Park
- CA: Lava Beds National Monument
- CA: Mount Shasta
- CA: Pinnacles National Park
- CA: Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley National Park
- CA: Panum Crater, Mono Lake
- ID: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
- ID: Menan Buttes
- NM: Capulin Volcano National Monument
- NM: El Malpais National Monument
- NM: Shiprock
- NM: Valley of Fires Recreation Area
- NV: Lunar Crater National Natural Landmark
- OR: Crater Lake National Park
- OR: Newberry National Volcanic Monument
- TX: Odessa Meteor Crater
- UT: Snow Canyon State Park
- WY: Hot Springs State Park
- WY: Yellowstone National Park
- AZ: Havasu Canyon
- CA: Rainbow Falls, Devils Postpile National Monument
- CA: Mist Falls, Kings Canyon National Park
- CA: Roaring River Falls, Kings Canyon National Park
- CA: Kings Creek Falls, Lassen Volcanic National Park
- CA: Mill Creek Falls, Lassen Volcanic National Park
- CA: McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
- CA: Tokopah Falls, Sequoia National Park
- CA: Chilnualna Falls, Yosemite National Park
- CA: Lower Yosemite Fall, Yosemite National Park
- CA: Nevada Fall, Yosemite National Park
- CA: Upper Yosemite Fall, Yosemite National Park
- CA: Vernal Fall, Yosemite National Park
- CO: Rifle Falls State Park
- ID: Mesa Falls
- TX: Pedernales Falls State Park
- UT: Lower Calf Creek Falls, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
- UT: Upper Calf Creek Falls, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
- WY: Mystic Falls, Yellowstone National Park
- WY: Wraith Falls, Yellowstone National Park
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