The light was changing when I took this shot near Hanksville, Utah.
What you're looking at is bentonite clay: ancient volcanic ash that settled into layers millions of years ago, then got carved by water and wind. The result is this rippled terrain that looks more like another planet than Earth.
Those flat-topped formations in the background are remnants of what used to cover this entire area. Everything else got washed away. What's left is evidence of how much rock once sat here…thousands of feet of it, gone.
The locals call this area the "Mars of Utah" and NASA agrees. They've tested Mars rovers here because the terrain matches what satellites see on Mars. Same colors, same patterns, and same desolation.
This isn't Capitol Reef or Arches or Canyonlands. There are no entrance fee or really any paved roads. The area is just BLM land that stretches for miles, open to anyone willing to drive the washboard roads.
The bentonite turns to soup when it rains. Your boots gain five pounds of mud with each step. When it's dry, like in this photo, the clay is hard as concrete. The surface cracks into patterns that catch the last light before dark.
Hanksville, Utah sits at the edge of this area. Population: 170 as of 2020. It exists as a supply point for people heading to the parks or the backcountry. One small grocery store, a few motels, RV parks and cabins. There’s two gas stations and a few restaurants.
But the town isn't the draw to the area. This beauty is.
The morning I shot this, I was hoping for some color in the sky but when it didn’t happen, i started looking for other compositions and found this one.
View more of my photography at imagesbyericbrown.com
