Bowl of Fire is a small area in Lake Mead NRA that is just one of several extensions of Valley of Fire, although it’s less convenient to get to. It’s made up of the very cool Aztec Sandstone that the Colorado River cut through long ago, separating these formations from similar rocks on the other side of the river including Whitney Pockets and Little Finland.
The brilliant Aztec Sandstone emerges abruptly from beneath muddy conglomerate slabs. It’s a weird contrast of both color and texture.
My initial overview of the area after I arrived. Where to go?
This looked like a good direction to head in.
A surprise slot canyon with water in it!
Getting there involves a few miles of sandy off road travel and then a mile of cross country walking. The area is very randomly spread out across three miles, so once you make it to the beginning of the outcrops, expect to walk much farther in whichever direction looks interesting. I was only there for a few hours and I feel like I barely scratched the surface. I’m looking forward to another trip this winter.
I wandered around for quite some time looking down canyons both to my left and right and, well, basically in every direction. I decided to see if i could climb out to get a better overview of the terrain.
I made it on top of a wall but things weren’t really any less confusing. Oh well.
A really cool helmet rock arch formation.
View from the inside.
The clouds I enjoyed had slowly moved away, very conveniently, in late afternoon when the sunlight really started to bring out the colors.
Some delicate rock tendrils sticking out the span of an arch. Another arch in the background. There are small arches absolutely everywhere in Bowl of Fire.
Another tempting canyon.
More spectacular rocks. This one looked like something.
Finally a good overlook.
A delicate and preposterously detailed arch.
Many of the arches have multiple openings.
Orange, mauve and white stones.
I took one last break by this other delicate arch. Backpack for scale in the other picture. Do not climb on the arches if you visit. They will break.
A peak at Lake Mead in the distance.