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Canyon de Chelley

View from the Slide House Overlook. Slide House Ruins are in an alcove to the right of the center of the photograph (below the sandstone cliff displaying streaks of desert varish). Some of the ancient Anasazi ruins have collapsed and fallen off the cliff.

Desert vanish is a thin manganese mineral coating that forms on the surface of rock. Manganese-fixing bacteria living on the rock surface trap minerals from dust and streaming water.

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