The red sandstone was deposited about 150 million years ago and then over the years the wind and water have eroded the rock deposits, creating the picturesque landscape that can be enjoyed today. The erosion has also exposed a number of petrified trees that can be reached easily by short walks from paved roads.
Starting as early as 300 BC, Native Americans visited the area for hutting and food gathering purposes and possibly for religious ceremonies. Consequently, very nice examples of rock art can be found at several locations throughout the park, particularly where there are springs or tanks that collect water.
In more recent years, the CCC built various improvements in the park that include some stone cabins for passing travelers to use as emergency shelters. The stone cabins stand vacant today, but are a great reminder of a time when transportation between cities was much less reliable and travelers never knew where they may have to spend the night.
The CCC also built roads to more remote parts of the park so that travels could enjoy the unusual rock formations that are found farther from the main highway. Many of the formations take on shapes of birds, animals, and even an elephant's head!
At the north end of the interior park road is the White Domes hiking trail, which leads to a small slot canyon and an old movie set that was used in The Professionals with Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin and Claudia Cardinale. Other films that used the Valley of Fire landscape include Airwolf (TV show 1984-1987), Total Recall, Star Trek Generations, Domino, Angel of Fire, and Transformers.
At night, the rock silhouettes are intriguing and the park is far enough from Las Vegas that there are beautiful view of the moon and stars. I finally broke down and bought a Valley of Fire annual pass, so I'll probably spend more tine out here in the next twelve months.
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