White Pocket is located in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument on the Arizona-Utah border. On the Paria Plateau of northern Arizona it is not easy to reach but well worth a visit. There is some question about how this area was formed but the resulting landscape of a white graining layer overlying a red sandstone layer is wonderful for photography. Photographing early in the day and late in the afternoon is essential for bringing out the textures as well as making the red sandstone intensely colorful.

Coyote Buttes South is in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and is accessible by permit. Near Coyote Buttes North, where the famous formation know as the Wave is found, it is not as popular probably, in part, because it is only accessible by high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle. There are many interesting formations of the layered Navajo sandstone in this area.

Antelope Canyon is popular and much photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. It is located near Page, Arizona and is on Navajo land. The Canyon includes two separate sections, known as Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon was formed by the erosion of Navajo sandstone, primarily from flash flooding. This was my first time photographing slot canyons and I found it interesting but challenging.The most visited of the two sections, is wider and easier to walk through since it is all on one level. Another commonly photographed scene nearby is Horseshoe Bend, a place overlooking a sharp bend in the Colorado River.

Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southwestern Utah. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the sedimentary rocks. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views. Bryce sits at a much higher elevation than nearby Zion National Park. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet (2,400 to 2,700 m).

Zion National Park is located in southwestern Utah near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches, but on my short visit I spent most of my time in the canyon along the Virgin River.