Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in north-central Arizona is an isolated landscape of geologic formations and rugged terrain that supports a rich array of desert wildlife and vegetation, including an experimental population of California condors reintroduced in 1996. Its centerpiece is the Paria Plateau, a grand terrace between the East Kaibab and Echo Cliffs monoclines. Along the plateau’s southern and eastern edge, the Vermilion Cliffs rise 1,500 feet in multicolored layers of shale and sandstone, while on the east side the Paria River winds toward the Colorado River through a 2,500-foot-deep canyon of natural amphitheaters, arches, and massive sandstone walls formed by erosion over eons. John Wesley Powell named these dramatic cliffs in 1869 as he began his Grand Canyon expedition down the Colorado River, and the monument was established on November 9, 2000, to conserve, protect, and restore natural treasures for present and future generations.