The Arizona Strip

This is the region of Arizona separated from the rest of the state by the Colorado River. Water formed this land, yet it is scarcely to be found here an almost constant reminder as I explore from Joshua tree to pine and aspen forests. Here, too, are endless sage-covered valleys, towering cliffs, and graceful sandstone forms, unique places where the click of my shutter is the only sound to be heard.

(RIGHT) Rising from the desert floor on the vast and lonely Arizona Strip, Cathedral Rock seems, at first glance, to be the ruins of a structure used centuries ago by a people long vanished.

(LEFT) Sunset and clouds enhance the enigmatic appearance of the craggy Virgin Mountains near Littlefield, in the far northwestern corner of the state.

(RIGHT) Blooming Joshua trees tower above other vegetation in the Virgin River Gorge. The 8,026-square-mile Arizona Strip contains a variety of vegetation, ranging from the hardy plants of the Mohave Desert to the lush alpine forests of the Kaibab plateau.

THE ARIZONA STRIP

(LEFT) Pine trees and other high-country vegetation overlook House Rock Valley, viewed from a ridge on the Kaibab Plateau.