Desert Vistas

From Pintado Point, exceptionally clear views extend far beyond the surrounding Petrified Forest because the air there is among the purest in the continental United States. At times, the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, 120 miles away, can be seen clearly, and this long-distance visibility also reveals the Painted Desert's vibrant colors stretching to the horizon. In pre-industrial times, visibility fluctuated naturally with weather, wind, dust, and smoke, but today man-made pollutants also reduce contrast, wash out colors, and make distant landscape features indistinct or invisible. Most of these pollutants are fine particles of sulfates, organic matter, soot, nitrates, and soil dust from industry, farming, motor vehicles, forest fires, and other sources. As in many rural western areas, sulfates, organic matter, and soot contribute almost equally to decreased visibility, and air quality equipment in the park measures and monitors the amount of these fine particles in the atmosphere. Air quality can be improved through carpooling, recycling, reducing use of electricity, and involvement in community air quality issues.

Arizona · United States