There is no paved parking lot. No signs. No shuttle buses. No entrance booth. No park rangers. No rails along the canyon rim.  No guides. No hot dog stands. No mules to take you into the canyon. No Visitor Center. No visitors!  Edward Abbey would approve of this place. In fact, it’s hard to find Coal Mine Canyon listed on any map. You’re suppose to look for the windmill  near a farmhouse and water tank south of Tuba City.  And that’s the way it should be.

 

Coal Mine Canyon could easily be its own National Park. It is in a remote part of Northern Arizona on the border of the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations. There are remnants of coal deposits in the canyon that the Hopis mined in the past.  But hues of orange, magenta, gold, cyan and yellow dominate the canyon walls. Abstract shapes, patterns, and warped lines grab your attention.

My next post will be of the canyon next door to Coal Mine, Ha Ho No Geh Canyon. These images and more are available as downloadable files or signed prints at Dawn2Dawn Photography