Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0401Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of two people in a cart being pulled by a pair of mules, a plateu is seen in the distance. Above the image "56" is printed, below the image "V23259 - A Wilderness of Sand - Miles from Human Habitations, Painted Desert of Arizona." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company Copyrighted, Underwood & Underwood Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Portland, Oregon, London, Eng., Sydney, Aus." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
V223259
A WILDERNESS OF SAND, THE PAINTED DESERT OF ARIZON
The deserts of Arizona are no longer called "The Land God Forgot," for we now see in them a beauty especially their own. So colorful is this wild land that the early Spanish gave it the name of "El Desertio Pintado"- The Painted Desert. The sunrises and the sunsets are brilliant and gorgeous. The sands and clays are of varying colors; gray, red, blue, green, orange, and yellow are equally mingled on the surrounding mountains. The atmospheric condition produces searchlights which pay upon these colorings in such a manner as to rival the greatest artificial electricial displays. Not for thrity seconds does the color scheme remain unchanged. The wind ans storm have carved fantastic and picturesque images in the rock.
The expanses are vast and awful, but hemming them in are mountain-high plateaus, rich in coloring and peculiar in outline. In spots, however, there are rich valleys and fertile gardens, but in reality it is a veritable desert, for while a mighty river drains the land, its passage-way is so confined as to make it unapproachable. Men have been known to go crazy in their desire to reach this inaccessible stream.
This picture was taken about seventy miles from the nearest railway station, and shows the ordinary method of transportation, a wagon drawn by two mules. To cross the Painted Desert is really a camping-out trip ; bedding, provisions and water must be taken along.
Once there were great lakes here, filled with enormous bird-like reptiles and other strange animals which no longer exist. Their fossile remains, deep in the rock, tell us that they were once here.
Copyright by The Keystone View CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection