Horseshoe Bend at Sunrise

by Rob Hemphill

Title

Horseshoe Bend at Sunrise

Artist

Rob Hemphill

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River 5 miles downstream of Glen Canyon dam and Lake Powell. It is located just a few miles from the town of Page, Arizona in the US.

It is popular for both sunrise and sunset photography, so expect to see large groups of people making the round trip 1.5-mile hike down to the overlook point and back. The overlook is 1,000-foot (300 m) drop above the Colorado River.

Horseshoe Bend is a geologic masterpiece sculpted by the Colorado River, and is an example of what happens when water takes the path of least resistance. Approximately 5 million years ago – or what a geologist might describe as “just the other day” – the Colorado Plateau abruptly uplifted. The rivers that flowed across this ancient landscape were suddenly trapped in their beds. Seeking a new natural level, with the help of gravity, the Colorado River began cutting through rock layers deep and fast. Here at Horseshoe Bend, an unstoppable force met an immovable object, namely, a sandstone escarpment. Since this rock formation wasn’t going to budge anytime soon, the river did the most logical thing it could: it went around it. The result is the 270° bend in the river (called an “incised” or “entrenched meander”) you see before you. Who knows, in a few million years, the stubborn promontory might finally decide to give way to the river’s whims, and future tourists could be viewing an attraction that bears a resemblance to Rainbow Bridge!

Recently, the lookout has become a major tourist destination. By 2018, references to the location on social media had caused the number of visitors to increase significantly.

***************************************************
Featured in the following FAA Groups:

"ABC Group" 01/02/2023
"1000 Views on 1 Image" 07/16/2020
"100 Favorite" 07/05/2020
"Five Star Artist" 05/28/2020
"Mind-Blowing Photography" 04/14/2020
"Beauty of Arizona" 02/16/2020
"Camera Art" 01/09/2020
"The 200 Club best photos" 11/25/2019
"Your Very Best Photography" 11/19/2019
"Go Take a Hike Photography" 11/18/2019
"Pure Nature Photography" 11/15/2019
"The Top 50 Features" 11/13/2019
"Images That Excite You!" 11/08/2019

***************************************************

Uploaded

November 7th, 2019

Statistics

Viewed 2,018 Times  -  Last Visitor from Wilmington, DE on 04/20/2024 at 9:32 AM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags