Grand Canyon View from El Tovar

Finally had to chance to check another big one off of my bucket list - see the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The canyon sneaks up on you. You are... more

by Jon Burch Photography

Title

Grand Canyon View from El Tovar

Artist

Jon Burch Photography

Medium

Photograph - Digital Capture

Description

Finally had to chance to check another big one off of my bucket list - see the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The canyon sneaks up on you. You are driving along and suddenly, there it is right in front of your car. Managed to hit the place for about a day and a half allowing me to shoot at both sunup and sundown at least twice. The polarizing filter on my camera lens brought out colors in the rock that only were suspected before the event. The Colorado River at the bottom and the Arizona winds working together over time have made this area a thing not to be missed.

One may question how these mesas and buttes in the Grand Canyon got their names in the first place? Many of the canyon's landmarks were named by geologist Charles Dutton who published one of the earliest detailed geologic studies of the canyon in 1882. Dutton believed that the canyon was such an important and impressive feature on the planet, the names of its features should reflect all the world's cultures and thus he chose many names from mythologies and legends from around the world. Examples of canyon landmarks named in this way are Wotan's Throne, Cheops Pyramid, Budda Temple, Solomon Temple, Jupiter Temple and Tower of Ra. In the left foreground is a feature called the Battleship.

Some named features visible from my vantage point at the El Tovar Lodge include left to right: the Isis Temple, Kaibab Plateau, Cheops Pyramid, Budda Temple, Bright Angel Canyon, Brahma Temple, Zoroaster Temple.

Photograph copyright 2014 Jon Burch Photography

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February 25th, 2014