Grand Canyon became a National Park in 1919. It has an area of over 1,900 square miles and contains 277 miles of the Colorado River. The canyon is cut into a rounded mountain, called the Kaibab Plateau. It is estimated that it has taken the Colorado River, along with erosion from rain and wind, from three to six million years to cut the Grand Canyon.
Five Indian tribes live in the region today: the Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai, Paiute and Hualapai.
At sunset the pageant closes amid splendors that seem more than earthly. ...the sun draws near the horizon, the great drama...begins. The western sky is all aflame. The climax has now come. The blaze of sunlight...so rich, so strong, so pure that it makes the heart ache and the throat tighten. ...the sun sinks.... But its glory mounts upward and diffuses itself in the sky above.
Clarence Dutton, Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District, 1882
We are drawn to sunrise and sunset, the beginning and climax of each day. The sun illuminating from a lower angle highlights color, texture, and silhouettes. The warm yellows, golds, and reds contrast with the deep, dancing shadows, unlike the flat, blue lighting of midday.
© Scenic Vista Photography