Whipple Point

Whipple Point is a roadside overlook in the north end of Petrified Forest National Park, about four miles from the north entrance. It looks over the Painted Desert toward Pintado Point and Pilot Rock. It works as a quick look from the drive, with an interpretive panel at the stop; nearby overlooks give you a similar sweep from different angles, so keep this one brief if time is tight.

Across the view, the red Chinle Formation is capped at Pintado Point and Pilot Rock by dark basalt of the Bidahochi Formation. For a photo, include some of the dark rim above the red and pale bands; the contrast gives the landscape its shape.

Whipple Point takes its name from Lt. Amiel W. Whipple, who in 1853 led a government expedition exploring a transcontinental railroad route to the Pacific near the 35th parallel. The expedition documented the area's petrified wood and its leader named Lithodendron Wash. That history gives this short roadside stop a connection to the early surveys of the Southwest.