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LOCATIONS |
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The Lost World Of Glen Canyon
Beginning in 1999, the usual deep Rocky
Mountain snowpack became anemic, causing the water level in Lake
Powell to fall approximately 30 feet each year since then. Back
in the fall of 2002, as the drought continued, I began to realize
that if these conditions persisted, I'd have the opportunity
to travel back in time to revisit the canyons as they were when
I first arrived in the West more than 30 years ago.
By the spring of 2003, arriving on the heels of yet another dry
winter, I set out to explore as many drained-out canyons as I
could before the water level began to rise with the spring snowmelt.
In the wider canyons, high sediment banks rose on both sides
of the streambeds, but I also found narrow canyons where more
than 40 feet of accumulated sediment had already been flushed
out.
I compared old photos to what I was seeing and was astonished
at the similarity. It was as if the reservoir had never been.
Small plants and ferns were already beginning to reestablish
hanging gardens along the walls as cottonwood shoots, willows
and wildflowers spread across newly exposed ground. Desert varnish
was beginning to obliterate the "bathtub" ring.
Fast-forward to February 2005 as the annual low point for the
reservoir approached. I had calculated that the floor of the
Cathedral in the Desert would likely rise out of the water sometime
in April for the first time in nearly 40 years. The reservoir
finally bottomed out at an elevation of 145 feet below full pool,
a level last seen in 1969 as the reservoir was filling. Seventy
percent of the water in Lake Powell was gone.
My wife and I outfitted a pontoon boat with our gear and motored
down the lake to the entrance of the Escalante and proceeded
to the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon. With great anticipation of
what lay ahead of us, we slowly moved up the canyon. As our boat
rounded that last bend and entered the narrow chamber of the
Cathedral, we couldn't quite believe our eyes. There at the back
of the chamber, the waterfall stood high above the reclaimed
floor of the canyon.
I had seen this image so many times before, but only in two-dimensional
photographs. Now, here we were, as if gazing into the eyes of
a long-dead friend. Retrieving my camera gear from the boat,
I silently began to compose my first image in this sacred place.
Later on, I located and stood on the same spot where Phillip
Hyde captured his iconic image of Cathedral back in 1964 as the
reservoir waters were already rising. This was the most profound
experience of my professional life—to set up my own tripod
and create my own images in that glowing, luminous chamber.
As I write this, the spring runoff from a snowpack 125% of normal
is now flooding into Lake Powell. The water level is rising 18
inches every day and has already risen 30 feet since bottoming
out in April. Many of the places we just explored are now re-submerged.
Although I think last winter's high snowpack was a fluke, if
this coming winter provides another above-average year, these
canyons will continue to slip back beneath the dead waters of
the reservoir.
Now that I've seen many of these canyons for myself, I can begin
to understand how gut-wrenching it must have been for people
to have watched them slowly drown beneath the waves. For those
of us fortunate enough to have gazed upon these resurrected wonders
of Glen Canyon, and to now watch them slip beneath the surface
again, perhaps we can find solace in the words of Edward Abbey
who, while bemoaning their loss, commented that the canyons aren't
really gone at all. They're simply in "liquid storage," just
waiting....
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SCENICS
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Alaska Bound
January/February 2006
Living in tents and a Sportsmobile for months at a time, Kennan and Karen Ward explore the limitless photographic opportunities in the vast Alaska wilderness
By Ibarionex R. Perello
Photography By Kennan and Karen Ward
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Winter Hot And Cold Spots
December 2005
Whether you’ve packed snowshoes or swimsuits, these diverse destinations will satisfy your craving for winter photography
By Ibarionex R. Perello
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The Lost World Of Glen Canyon
October 2005
Dry years in the West have lowered the level of Lake Powell and revealed long-submerged canyons
Text And Photography By James Kay
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Stretching The Landscape
August 2005
Where is landscape photography going today? How might we as photographers find new inspiration and approaches to this classic subject?
By Rob Sheppard And Dewitt Jones
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TRAVEL |
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The Workshop Experience
April 2006
Master new skills, explore spectacular locations and make new friends who share your passion as you learn together from experienced pros
By Jon Sienkiewicz
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India: Live And In Color
January/February 2006
The vibrant world of this cultural jewel is revealed through an amateur’s lens
By Ibarionex R. Perello
Photography By Maciej Dakowic
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60 Minutes With Chris Johns
November 2005
A conversation with National Geographic’s first field photographer editor
By Steven Werner
Photography By Chris Johns
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Land Of Passes
April 2005
The Tibetan-like land of Ladakh makes a last stand against the rush of globalization, leaving it as the do-or-die destination for photographers seeking an unblemished Buddhist culture in a Himalayan-scale landscape
Text And Photography By Ryan Stevenson
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