This view looks directly east across the Valley of the Sun from the White Tank Mountains.  The edge of the Phoenix metropolitan area (in the vicinity of Sun City) is visible on the flat , and barely visible through the haze in the background are the Phoenix Mountains.  You can look back from them to where this picture was taken, for the reverse view.
   All of the mountains around Phoenix tower abruptly from the flats -- they are like the tips of icebergs sticking out of the ocean waters.  Only in this case, the ocean is a sea of gravel, sand, silt, and salt beds.
  
   See the GeoHistory page if you want to know more about why the landscape looks the way it does, or return to the map of "The Rocks of the Valley of the Sun" for more view locations.
   You can also send this as an E-Postcard to your friends!