Where on Earth? - October 2009

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Amy Moss-Russell

Clues for October 2009:

1. Less known than their cohort, “The Wave,” these dunes form a collection of undulating formations that were largely unknown until the 1970s.

2. The dunes are not off-limits to the public, but concerns about preserving the formations led the Bureau of Land Management to limit the number of visitors to 20 people per day in this region of a 119,070-hectare national monument.

3. These particular formations are named for a Native American tribe. Other striking formations in the area include “White Pocket” and “Steamboat Rock.”

Name these formations and their location.

Scroll down for the answer

Answer: Largely unknown until the 1970s, the formations of Coyote Buttes North in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona include the oft-photographed “The Wave,” as well as the portion of the Navajo Sandstone Formation pictured here. Only 20 visitors are allowed into Coyote Buttes North per day. Photo by Amy Moss-Russell.

October winners
Lauren Colwell (St. Paul, Minn.)
Jerry Dolence (Reno, Nev.)
Michael F. Elio (Fairport, N.Y.)
John Hebberger Jr. (Jackson, Wyo.)
Art Johnson (Kenner, La.)
Stephen Lacy (Albuquerque, N.M.)
James Neal (Prescott, Ariz.)
Ted Reeves (Ontario, Calif.)
Charles Roll (Gansevoort, N.Y.)
Jim Sukup (Indianapolis, Ind.)

To submit your photographs to our Where on Earth? contest, send them via e-mail to
earth@earthmagazine.org.