The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness encompasses 41,170 acres of rock formations that would seem more natural on Mars than in New Mexico. The U.S. Congress designated the Bisti/De-Na-Zin as a wilderness area in 1984. The Bureau of Land Management manages the site.
Translated from the Navajo word Bistahí, Bisti means “among the adobe formations.” De-Na-Zin, Dééł Náázíní, translates as “Standing Crane,” which is a reference to crane petroglyphs found south of the Wilderness. The Bisti/De-Na-Zin is one of several protected badlands in the Four Corners area. Ah-She-Sle-Pah Wilderness is a few miles south and the Angel Peak badlands is about twenty miles northeast.