De Na Zin is managed by Bureau of Land Management and is located at the eastern end of the Bisti-De Na Zin Wilderness. De Na Zin takes it name from the Navajo phrase for “cranes”, referring to some petroglyphs in the region. The De Na Zin Wilderness Area is a remote area of high desert featuring badlands, desert washes, hoodoos, and petrified wood.
The entrance to the De Na Zin Wilderness area is easy to miss. There is a short dirt track pull off that is barely large enough to accommodate 2 or 3 vehicles. To get to the De Na Zin wash, you must hike roughly a half mile across desert scrub before descending down into the De Na Zin Wash.
Some of the most interesting parts of this wilderness area are about a mile and half to the west, and can be accessed by walking along the edge of the De Na Zin Wash.
There are occasional hoodoos along the edges of the wash, which have formed where the white mudstone has eroded under a brown sandstone cap.
Passing a hoodoo as a storm threatens to chase us out of the wash. Since there are no trails in this wilderness area, these rock formations serve as important guideposts for finding your way in and out of the area.
Another bizarre hoodoo on the north side of the De Na Zin wash.
This vast area of multi-colored hills is one of my favorite places to experiment with images. The colors are the result of ancient deposits of volcanic ash, coal, and clay.
While these hills look relatively flat, they were actually high enough that my wife opted to stay in the valleys between.
This dead tree caught me eye, as it was the only one I could find on the hills, I had to wonder, why did you grow here where nothing else has grown? Sadly, it seems to have been a failed experiment.
The north side of the De Na Zin wash is lined with a large area of badlands
De Na Zin Wilderness has concentrated areas of petrified wood throughout the badlands areas, often found at the bottom of the hills, in the eroded gulleys, and on top of mudstone hoodoos. These trunks often break apart into smaller pieces and chips that are scattered across the desert floor.
A large petrified wood "bench" along the top of the north basin wall.
A cross section of another large petrified log,
Since there really is no trail, just open wilderness, it's a good call to be back to your vehicle by sunset. Nobody will notice if you don't come back in this location, it is a very remote site.