Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico, USA Mar 9, 2024

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico, USA

Time is the great transformer, changing the world and all of us. For instance, this New Mexico badland—the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness—was once a lush, tropical forest. Nearly 70 million years ago, instead of twisted terrains and towering spires, this place was home to an array of Late Cretaceous dinosaurs, including armoured ankylosaurs, duck-billed hadrosaurs and mighty Tyrannosaurs. Today, the area is filled with wonders of a different kind, rock formations that look more like sculptures than natural phenomena. Bisti/De-Na-Zin is named after Navajo words: Bisti means "among the adobe formations," and De-Na-Zin comes from nearby rock carvings of a "standing crane." Visitors to the Four Corners region shouldn"t miss out on this otherworldly landscape of shale and sandstone.

© Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

A rainbow that’s worth the rainfall
Mar 9, 2025Kedarkantha, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
Mar 9, 2026Grey seal sleeping on the beach, Orkney Islands, Scotland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Want to hang about?
Mar 14, 2025Lathmar Holi
Apr 14, 2024Bowling Ball Beach, California, USA
A beach of many colours
Apr 17, 2025Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
Babbling on and on
Jul 13, 2024Fairy chimneys and cave dwellings in Cappadocia, Türkiye
Nov 10, 2023Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA
Purple mountain majesties
Jan 3, 2026J.R.R. Tolkien Day
Jan 30, 2026St. Michaels Mount in Marazion, Cornwall, England
Bridging the gap two ways
Racing through the five boroughs
Festival fever
Nov 4, 2023American bison
Feb 15, 2026Celebrating Maha Shivaratri
Dec 7, 2023Verdon Gorge, France
Oct 26, 2024Gespensterwald, Nienhagen, Germany
Eyes on the skies
Heaven meets Earth!
The Big Apple with a foggy topping
Nov 20, 2023Gathering Place, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Stealthy pollinators
Dec 6, 2025Everglades National Park, Florida, United States
Jun 5, 2024World Environment Day
Aug 20, 2025The citadel in Bonifacio, Southern Corsica, France
Jun 1, 2025World Reef Awareness Day
Jan 29, 2026Milwaukee City Hall, Wisconsin, United States
Oct 25, 2024Golden Temple, Amritsar
A temple to treasure