Armchair Adventures
America’s public lands offer some of the most spectacular and interesting places you’ll ever see. While everyone is encouraged to stay at home, the BLM Blog will feature "Armchair Adventures." This is your opportunity to travel virtually and learn a bit about these amazing places. Today, follow along with the eighth installment of Armchair Adventures.
Bisti Badlands, New Mexico
The “Bisti Badlands” with their colorful rock formations and examples of petrified wood and fossils, tell the story of an ancient ecosystem. Swamps and the occasional pond bordering an ancient river left behind large buildups of organic material that became beds of lignite and coal. At some point, a volcano deposited a large amount of ash, and the river moved the ash from its original locations. Prehistoric animals including dinosaurs survived on the lush foliage that grew along the many riverbanks. These plants and animals were preserved as fossils and petrified wood, and then exposed by erosion that also shaped the hard and soft rock layers into the hoodoos and other landforms now visible.
The badlands today are a world of gray, black, red and purple. Much of the coal in the badlands burned in an ancient fire that lasted centuries. The clay over the coal layer was changed by the heat into red "clinkers" that look today like tiny pieces of red pottery or perhaps chunks of brick. The red layer can be seen in this image along with whiter ash and black coal.
This area has been designated as the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness area. Translated from the Navajo word Bistahí, Bisti means "among the adobe formations." De-Na-Zin, from Navajo Dééł Náázíní, translates as "Standing Crane." Petroglyphs of cranes have been found south of the Wilderness.
Yaquina Head Tidepools, Oregon
Yaquina Head extends outward from the Oregon Coast offering close-up views of migrating whales, marine mammals, and seabirds. The rocky shoreline at its base contains a rich “intertidal” zone that includes the area between high and low tides. Here numerous species of algae (seaweed) and small animals thrive in seemingly hostile living conditions.
Intertidal plant and animal species have each developed special adaptations to deal with the harsh ever-changing conditions of their home. Imagine getting pounded by rough surf and spending hours each day in the drying sun alternating with hours immersed in salt water!
Intertidal inhabitants have an impressive ability to hold on tightly to rocks to avoid being washed away. For example, mussels attach to rocks with thin silk-like “byssal threads” that are stronger than steel. The giant green anemones shown in this image can live to be over 80 years old and feed use stinging cells in their tentacles to paralyze small fish and crabs. Their green color comes from algae that live within and help produce additional nutrients from sun. Also visible are purple sea urchins who can actually chew into rock creating holes for protection from waves.
Escalante Canyons, Monsoon, Utah
The term Monsoon originated in India and refers to a seasonal change in wind patterns usually associated with heavy rains. The western U. S. has its own monsoon season from July to September, which is most prevalent in the four-corner states but can extend beyond. When southern monsoon winds occur, they carry pulses of moisture northward from the Gulf of California or Gulf of Mexico. Mornings may start out clear but clouds and thunderstorms will build throughout the day. Intense rains, hail, and vivid displays of lightning can occur. Heavy downpours cannot be absorbed, especially in expansive areas of slickrock like those shown here in the Escalante River Canyons. The rapid runoff can cause dangerous flash flooding in normally dry washes.
As the heat dissipates in the evening, the storms begin dying down, and if conditions are just right, some of the most dramatic sunsets ever can be viewed during the monsoon. Slanting bands of clouds on the back side of a departing storm act as a sort of projection screen for the scattered low-sun colors and capture more of the orange and red light. If the cloud is thin enough, it will reflect those colors down to earth. Bands of rain that never reach the ground, called “virga” look like orange curtains hanging from the clouds.
By late September, less daytime heating signals a return to more westerly winds and an end to the southwest’s monsoon until next year.
Related Stories
- BLM Showcases Local Recreation Treasures Ahead of National Hunting and Fishing Day
- Healing Hooves: How a Once‑Wild Burro is Bringing Joy Across Pennsylvania and Competing Nationally
- Gallant: A BLM mustang with a bright future
- Commemorating the Sonoran Desert National Monument’s 25th Anniversary
- Handies Peak Brings People Together on Colorado’s Public Lands for Summit 2026