The Colorado and Green rivers divide Canyonlands National Park into three districts. Last year I explored the Island in the Sun District, which is close to Moab. On Friday I explored the Needles District. Some day I hope to explore the Maze, which is the least accessible district of Canyonlands because of its remoteness.

The Needles is a landscape of sculptured rock spires, arches, and canyons. The Needles — rock pinnacles banded in red and white — dominate the land.

Since I arrived at midday, the light was harsh. To compensate for it I processed all my images with high dynamic range (HDR), which lets me combine three images taken almost simultaneously but at different exposures.

Canyonlands also has arches. One of them in plain sight on the horizon looks just like a huge wooden shoe.

Wooden Shoe Arch

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The image below is of one of many rock formations and doesn’t have a name. But it reminds me of a chimney.

A Chimney Rock

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Here are a few of the thousands of needles for which the district takes its name.

Needles on the Horizon

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This is truly a wilderness. It is a wilderness of rock.