The Painted Desert in Arizona to finish the interior scenes on the studio lot in Hollywood. Ninety percent of the film was shot in Arizona, between the Painted Desert in Dinosaur Canyon, and Tuba City, Arizona, as well as a nearby Indian reservation. In mid-November it was reported that the recording portion of the film had been completed. Clarence Kolster edited the film during December 1930. By November, advertisements promoting the film were being released to the trade papers. Produced by Pathé Exchange, the film would become part of the RKO Radio Pictures library when they purchased the studio in March, after which
Painted Desert (Arizona) he located some 40 miles east of Petrified Forest National Park. Finding the cities were not made of gold, Coronado sent an expedition to find the Colorado River to resupply him. Passing through the wonderland of colors, they named the area "El Desierto Pintado" ("The Painted Desert"). Much of the Painted Desert within Petrified Forest National Park is protected as Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area, where motorized travel is limited. Nonetheless, the park offers both easy and longer hikes into the colored hills. The Painted Desert continues north into the Navajo Nation, where off-road travel is allowed by permit. The