A sunset spectacle featuring two mitten-shaped rocks traversing Monument Valley Tribal Park from the visitor center in Oljato, Arizona, Monument Valley. Wednesday, March 29, 2023. A sunset scene featuring two mitten-shaped rock formations unfolded this week in Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation, which borders Arizona and Utah. Twice a year, in late March and his mid-September, spectators, photographers and videographers can get a visual treat. As the sun sets, the shadow of West Mitten Butte crawls across the desert valley floor and climbs the flanks of East Mitten Butte. (AP Photo/Vito Stalinskas)

MONUMENT VALLEY, Utah (AP) — A sunset scene featuring two mitten-shaped rock formations unfolded this week in Navajo Monument Valley along the Arizona-Utah border.

Twice a year, in late March and mid-September, spectators, photographers and videographers can get a visual treat. As the sun sets, the shadow of West Mitten Butte crawls across the desert valley floor and climbs the flanks of East Mitten Butte.

The spectacle draws people from all over the world to Monument Valley Tribal Park and has already become a tourist attraction.

Television and film critic Keith Phipps once said that Monument Valley “defined what moviegoers for decades thought when imagining the American West.”

It is a frequent filming location for many westerns by the late American director John Ford, as well as the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump. In the film, the character played by Tom Hanks is seen running down the road to Monument Valley, with the park’s striking scenery in the background.