7. Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness: New Mexico’s Alien Landscape
Tucked in the high desert of north-west New Mexico, the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness offers an environment so strange and alien that it seems more suited for science fiction than for our known planet. Under management by the Bureau of Land Management, this 45,000-acre wilderness region provides visitors with a view into a world moulded by millions of years of geological events, hence creating an unusual and mesmerising environment that questions our ideas of terrestrial settings.
Pronounced Bis-tie, the word “Bisti” derives from the Navajo language, meaning “a large area of shale hills.” “De-Na-Zin” (deh-nah-zin) gets its name from the Navajo phrase for “cranes,” alluding to petroglyphs of cranes discovered south of the wilderness area. This dual designation honours the area’s geological distinctiveness as well as its cultural value to the indigenous people who have lived here for millennia.
About 70 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous epoch, this remarkable scene started to develop. The area was then part of an ancient coastline where a shallow sea met a marshy floodplain. This habitat accumulated layers of mud, sand, and organic waste from decomposing plants and animals over millions of years. These sediments were compacted and turned into the several kinds of rock we know today as sea levels changed and the land progressively raised: sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal, and limestone.
The amazing erosion that has moulded these rock layers into a wonderful range of shapes distinguishes the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. The main sculptors have been wind and water, which gently erases the softer rocks leaving the harder elements behind. Hoodoos, spires, crowns, and pinnacles abound in a startling range of shapes and colours from this differential erosion.
Hoodoos are maybe the most recognisable aspect of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. Often topped with a harder, more resistant cap rock, these tall, thin spires of rock produce an almost fanciful look, as if a giant had been playing with clay and left his works to bake in the sun. From little creations barely a few feet tall to towering spires reaching heights of 30 feet or more, the hoodoos range in size. Their forms are eternally different; some seem like mushrooms, some like alien beings, still others create elegant arches and windows.
Petrified logs strewn around the wilderness add to the strange environment. These are the remains of once-vibrant old forests existing in the Cretaceous marshy habitat. The minerals that have replaced the wood of these trees over millions of years have turned them to stone while maintaining their natural form. Because of different minerals present throughout the petrification process, the vivid colours of the petrified wood in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness—from rich reds and oranges to purples and blues—are especially remarkable.
The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness’s colour scheme spans the very rocks themselves to the petrified timber. From extreme whites and greys to rich reds, yellows, and purples, the stratified sedimentary rocks show an amazing range of hues. With every layer reflecting a different era of deposition and environmental circumstances, this vibrant banding not only enhances the visual attractiveness of the landscape but also reveals the geological history of the area.
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