green river

Island in the Sky

I stood on the edge of tall sandstone mesa, peering down onto the undulating valley below. In front of me, the White Rim canyon cut a jagged scar on the dry plateau, while, in the distance, towering mesas rose a few thousand feet above the landscape. The evening light caught it all, adding red rimlight and dark shadows to the sharp features of this geological marvel. I was watching history in the various strata, dating back 320 million years ago, each with its own unique distinguishable feature.

To witness the immensity of the American Southwest landscape from this tower in the sky is perhaps one of the most awe-inspiring experiences. There are very few other places in this country that can inspire the same sense of grandeur one gets here: the vista from the Grand Canyon, the graceful U-shaped canyons at Glacier National Park, the never-ending tundra landscape of Denali. And that is what makes this place so memorable.

This is a panorama that captures about one-half of the spectacular vista from Green River Overlook in Canyonlands National Park, a lookout best visited at sunset. Coupled with a telephoto lens, I was able to capture intimate details of this rugged National Park

Canyonlands National Park
UT USA