Cedar Breaks National Monument

Cedar Breaks National Monument in southern Utah preserves a vast natural amphitheater about 3 miles across and more than 2,000 feet deep on the Markagunt Plateau near Cedar City. Formed by uplift and erosion, its shale, limestone, and sandstone began as sediments in ancient Lake Claron around 60 million years ago, later capped in places by volcanic tuff. Bands of red, orange, yellow, and purple give the landscape its striking color and inspired Indigenous people to call it the Circle of Painted Cliffs. Designated a national monument in 1933, it is also known for high-elevation forests, wildflowers, wildlife, and ancient bristlecone pines.

Utah · United States