SummitPost - Somewhere in time -- Photos, Diagrams & Topos

"And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun,
But it's sinking.
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way, but
You're older.
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death."

Pink Floyd (1973)

Actually, my topo link got screwed up. This landmark takes several days to reach; its not like you can jump off a boat from Lake Powell and suddenly come upon it. Please see THIS PHOTO from SP-member 'Scott.'

Atop the Rainbow Plateau southwest of Rainbow
Bridge National Monument, the harsh environment
beats in remarkable rhythm with Nature. The
landscape dominating this canyon country is the
product of eons of geologic activity; shifting
of continents, global rising and falling of sea
levels, and creation of highlands now worn and
redeposited. At times, desert dominated the
landscape; sometimes, freshwater or saltwater seas
invaded, leaving rivers to erode the layers.
The last uplift of the Colorado Plateau began
about 10 million years ago. Uplift made meandering
streams of the Colorado River run faster and cut
the canyons that are Lake Powell's basin. Navajo and Wingate
Sandstone, the dominant formations (seen here,) are
made of sand dunes hardened by ground water
minerals. The deposits eventually wore away
with the elements, revealing the landscape seen
today.

PLEASE CLICK the photo for a CLOSER view of
the sandstone, and enjoy this natural treasure.

~ Photographed exclusively by Gary Ladd ~
(November 1994)
Taken in San Juan County, Utah, just south of
Lake Powell and north of Arizona.