This entry is part 3 of 10 in the series Nevada Theme Month

Red Rocks

Nevada’s largest city – Las Vegas – is a neon landscape of titanic casinos in a Mojave Desert valley. Widen the gaze from the tinsel and a majestic rim of surrounding mountains emerges. The striking vista is notable not only for its jagged skyline but also its varied palette. Far from a drab expanse of earthen tones, this ridge does its best to match the flamboyance of the Vegas Strip and the setting sun.

Named for its famous oxidized sandstone, Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area rises approximately 15 miles west of Sin City. Each year, millions of tourists, hikers, and rock climbers visit these spectacular walls, which provide a natural cleanser for the artificial glamor of the valley.

Las Vegas sits in the valley at about 2,000 feet above sea level. The cliffs at Red Rock produce stunning verticality, with some faces racing upward 3,000 feet from their bases. The highest point in the park is fittingly named La Madre Mountain. The mother hits an elevation of 8,154 feet (2,485 meters).

The namesake red hues come from iron in the rocks composed of Aztec Sandstone. When exposed to oxygen, this iron rusts like a car, turning red, orange, or brown.

Despite the name Red Rock, these cliffs are not monochromatic, as evidenced by the photos above. 600 million years ago, this region sat beneath an ocean. Over time, sediments deposited in the waterbeds lithified into limestone. During an uplifting event about 250 million years ago, shale and sandstone entered the equation. Later, as the waters receded and evaporated, salt and gypsum joined the rock party. 180 million years ago, the area became a vast desert, including massive dunes. As the eons passed, the sands became cemented by calcium carbonates and iron oxides, morphing into Aztec Sandstone. This final stratum provided the red coloration to the region.

Looking at the overall stratification, however, you might notice the red isn’t always on top. This anomaly is the result of the last geological piece of the Red Rock recipe: the Laramide orogeny. 66 million years ago, this seismic mountain-building event transformed much of the western United States, including assembling the Rocky Mountains. The orogeny produced the Keystone Thrust Fault, a type of faulting in which older rocks end up on top of younger ones.

This faulting creates a wonderful calico cat out of Red Rock.

Since 1967, Red Rock Canyon has been under the purview of the Bureau of Land Management. In 1990, the federal government voted on legislation to add the canyon to the National Landscape Conservation System.

Though Red Rock does not quite reach heights that significantly lower the summer temperatures to points wildly below those of Las Vegas, humans have flocked to the canyons for thousands of years. Natural springs allowed plants unique to the surrounding Mojave to grow near the rock faces, which produced habitat for a slew of interesting critters. These attributes attracted Indigenous peoples as long as 11,000 years ago to Red Rock.

Incredibly, the dry climate preserved a spate of petroglyphs and pictographs created by ancient humans.

Approximately 600 species of plants inhabit these canyons, including some of the most iconic of the desert west. One can ramble around Joshua trees, yuccas, creosotes, agave, junipers, scrub oaks, and ponderosa pines.

Animals swarm the rocks and plants, including wild burros, rabbits, squirrels, bighorn sheep, red-spotted toads, and lizards. Red Rock is designated as a protected habitat for the desert tortoise.

A significant subset of the humans who visit Red Rock belong to the intrepid class of rock climbers. The faces of the canyons provide world-class routes, drawing many elite climbers to make home bases in Las Vegas.

One does not need to use ropes to get high at Red Rock, though. Trails abound that can lead the hiker to the tops of mountains. If going up isn’t one’s thing, other trails lead deep into canyons; shorter jaunts head to vistas or other points of interest.

Exploring the canyons on foot is best left to the non-summer portions of the calendar, as Red Rock has no shortage of scorching sunlight. In the humidity-free air, dehydration can be a concern. Thankfully, a picturesque driving circuit allows air-conditioned access to those of us who can only visit during the hottest parts of the year. The 13-mile road traverses through nearly every part of the park. Many times, a scenic drive through a gorgeous area is a poor substitution for getting feet on the ground. However, Red Rock’s circuit is a veritable IMAX nature documentary.

If you’ve never been to Red Rock, take a virtual tour of the circuit:

Few major cities boast a natural feature as close and significant as Red Rock. The ability to get away from the artifice of Las Vegas is a wonderful bonus.

Packed into this park is an impressive array of verticality and color. Though the stones form a cohesive whole when considered on a large scale, each successive step or mile brings a new angle and unique vantage point. Walking or driving through Red Rock is like watching one’s favorite film multiple times; each iteration brings forth something one missed on previous trips.