USA - Canyon Lands

"Given enough time, nothing is more changeable than rock".

Enos Mills

Bryce Canyon, all created by erosion.

USA - Canyon Lands

Traveling trough America's impressive canyon country, we explored the incredible natural structures of Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, Canyon Lands National Park, Glen Canyon, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon.

The movement of rivers, the processes of weathering and erosion, and tectonic activity create this spectacular canyon landscapes over millions and millions of years.

World of Stone

Descent into the canyon

Canyon hikes can be quite an undertaking -almost always a steep, dry descent and a climb back- but the sensory experience is worth it!

A hike amid Bryce Canyons's hoodoo's -sandstone spires arrayed in amazing mazes, fantastic animated forms shimmering in red colors- lends itself to true flights of fancy.

Working on a photoshoot in Canyolands NP (Utah), a wilderness of rock at the heart

of the Colorado Plateau.

Working on a photoshoot is Bryce Canyon NP (Utah), known for its

brightly colored spires and hoodoo's.

In the gallery a random selection of our most favorite shots made on our journey through the canyon lands of Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

Grand Canyon (Arizona) The Grand Canyon, up to 447 km long, 29 km wide and 1,8 km deep, has been carved over millions of years, as the Colorado River cuts trough the Colorado Plateau. The plateau is a large area that was elevated through tectonic uplift millions of years ago.

Monument Valley (Arizona-Utah) Monument Valley, located within the 27,000 sq mile Navajo Nation, has the most famous collection of butes in the world. Buttes usually form in arid areas, and are created by erosion and weathering. This bute was once part of a flat, elevated plateau. As a result, the bute stay about the same height as the original plateau.

Canyon Lands National Park The curve of Mesa Arch frames a stunning view over a remote and pristine expanse of canyons, mesas, and river gorges. Canyon Lands protects one of the most unspoiled areas of the vast Colorado Plateau.

Horeshoe Bend (Arizona) A small tourboat (right in de middle of the river) passes Horseshoe Bend, a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River. The view of Horseshoe Bend from the rim of the canyon is extraordinary!

Lake Mead - Nevada The first thing you notice when you fly over Lake Mead is the white line. That's where the water used to be. The Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead, is drying up. So the lake is rapidly shrinking. Since 2000, the lake has lost 4 trillion gallons of water.	Lake Mead - Nevada Flaming orange paint the landscape at Lake Mead, situated 24 mi (39 km) southeast of Las Vegas. The lake was created by the Hoover Dam in 1935 and receives the majority of its water from snow melt in the Rocky Mountains. It provides water for 20 million people in Southern Nevada (including Las Vegas), southern California and Arizona.	Antelope Canyon - Arizona Antelope Canyon is a so called 'slot canyon'. This narrow canyons are formed by the wear of water rushing through rock and are significantly deeper than they are wide. Some slot canyons can measure less than one meter (3 feet) across at the top but drop more than 30 meters (100 feet) to the bootom of the canyon.
Antelope Canyon - Arizona Normally it is very dark in the canyon. But around noon the shafts of light break the mysterious dusk, revealing the secrets of the canyon.

Sunrise over Monument Valley Witnessing the sunrise slowly over the magnificent horizons of Monument Valley (Arizona-Utah) is a revelation. The enchanting sunrays delicately touch the sandstone silhouettes, slowly revealing more and more of their texture, slowly bringing them to life. Until the early sun's radiance reveals the colorful, undisturbed monoliths in all their glory.

Sunset in the Canyon Lands (Utah) Sandstone towers in Canyon Lands National Park illuminated by brilliant sunset light. Canyon Lands preserves a wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau.

Glen Canyon Lake Powell, straddling the border between Arizona and Utah, was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam. The lake and natural wonders of Glen Canyon National Recreation Aree make this area a paradise for visitors.

Canyons Reveal Earth's History Canyons are like silent journals of an area's history over thousands or even millions of years. By studying the exposed layers of rock in a canyon all, experts can learn how about the climate changed, what kind of organisms were alive at certain times, and perhaps even how the canyon may change in the future.

A Wonderland of Exploration Horseriders explore the magnificent southern deserts of Utah. The mixture of sandstone -laid down over millions of years- that has then been weathered by erosion of wind, water and frost creates a unique landscape that is rarely seen on our planet.

Sunset over the Grand Canyon Brilliant red, flaming orange, soft purple and rich gold paint the rocks of the Grand Canyon at sunset. You will not find this spectacular light anywhere else on earth.

Natural Arches An underground salt bed, water, ice, and extreme temperatures are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park in Utah. On a clear, blue sky summer day it is difficult to imagine such violent forces, or the 100 million years of erosion, that created this land boasting one of the world's greatest densities of natural arches.

Deep time, Changing Landscapes

Grand Canyon reveals a beautiful sequence of rock layers that serve as windows into time. The carving of the canyon is only the most recent chapter, a geologic blink of an eye, in a long story. That long story includes rock nearly 2 billion (!) years old in the bottom of the canyon, land masses colliding and drifting apart, mountains forming and eroding away, sea levels rising and falling, and relentless forces of moving water.

A Wonderland of Red-Rock Hoodoos A face to face encounter with Hoodoos's in Bryce Canyon. Here the forces of weathering and erosion never rest, not even for a day. This dynamic, mesmerizing place is like no other!

Dead Horse Point (Utah) Dead Horse Point is a Utah State Park. It is a spectacular vista providing panoramic views of Canyon Lands National Park and the Colorado River.

Shades and Shadows Spectacular long shades and shadows sweep their way over Monument Valley.

Grand Canyon (Arizona)

The Grand Canyon, up to 447 km long, 29 km wide and 1,8 km deep, has been carved over millions of years, as the Colorado River cuts trough the Colorado Plateau. The plateau is a large area that was elevated through tectonic uplift millions of years ago.

Monument Valley (Arizona-Utah)

Canyon Lands National Park

The curve of Mesa Arch frames a stunning view over a remote and pristine expanse of canyons, mesas, and river gorges. Canyon Lands protects one of the most unspoiled areas of the vast Colorado Plateau.

Horeshoe Bend (Arizona)

A small tourboat (right in de middle of the river) passes Horseshoe Bend, a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River. The view of Horseshoe Bend from the rim of the canyon is extraordinary!

Lake Mead - Nevada

The first thing you notice when you fly over Lake Mead is the white line. That's where the water used to be. The Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead, is drying up. So the lake is rapidly shrinking. Since 2000, the lake has lost 4 trillion gallons of water.

Lake Mead - Nevada

Antelope Canyon - Arizona

Antelope Canyon - Arizona

Normally it is very dark in the canyon. But around noon the shafts of light break the mysterious dusk, revealing the secrets of the canyon.

Sunrise over Monument Valley

Sunset in the Canyon Lands (Utah)

Sandstone towers in Canyon Lands National Park illuminated by brilliant sunset light. Canyon Lands preserves a wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau.

Glen Canyon

Lake Powell, straddling the border between Arizona and Utah, was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam. The lake and natural wonders of Glen Canyon National Recreation Aree make this area a paradise for visitors.

Canyons Reveal Earth's History

A Wonderland of Exploration

Horseriders explore the magnificent southern deserts of Utah. The mixture of sandstone -laid down over millions of years- that has then been weathered by erosion of wind, water and frost creates a unique landscape that is rarely seen on our planet.

Sunset over the Grand Canyon

Brilliant red, flaming orange, soft purple and rich gold paint the rocks of the Grand Canyon at sunset. You will not find this spectacular light anywhere else on earth.

Natural Arches

Deep time, Changing Landscapes

A Wonderland of Red-Rock Hoodoos

A face to face encounter with Hoodoos's in Bryce Canyon. Here the forces of weathering and erosion never rest, not even for a day. This dynamic, mesmerizing place is like no other!

Dead Horse Point (Utah)

Dead Horse Point is a Utah State Park. It is a spectacular vista providing panoramic views of Canyon Lands National Park and the Colorado River.

Shades and Shadows

Spectacular long shades and shadows sweep their way over Monument Valley.