Lake Powell Page - Arizona

Page Arizona Sandstone Country

A sculpted outcrop of Navajo sandstone glows gold and rust in low sun near Page, Arizona, its surface etched with sweeping diagonal lines against a clear blue sky, in the sandstone country around Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. Key Features: The Rock: The sweeping lines are cross-bedding, left by ancient wind-blown dunes that hardened into Navajo sandstone. The Setting: Page sits on the Colorado Plateau beside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where bare sandstone cliffs and canyons draw photographers for their color and texture. The Light: Low desert sun deepens the iron oxide tones locked in the stone. The Region: Northern Arizona is known worldwide for its sandstone scenery, from slot canyons to river bends carved from the same ancient dunes.

Lake Powell At Page, Arizona

Domed Navajo sandstone buttes glow orange beneath an approaching storm at Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, with the reservoir's pale bathtub ring staining the shoreline in front and distant mesas and spires lining the horizon under heavy blue cloud. Key Features: The Bathtub Ring: The tall, bleached band shows how far the lake sits below capacity, where calcium carbonate and other minerals marked the rock. The Geology: The lake fills Glen Canyon on the Colorado Plateau, a vast uplift of sedimentary rock carved into canyons, mesas and cliffs. The Rock Formations: Jurassic sandstones, Navajo Sandstone among them, form the cliffs along these shores.

Lake Powell's Alstrom Point

Red rock buttes glow in the last warm light above the calm water of Padre Bay, seen from a high sandstone overlook at Alstrom Point on Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, the pale shoreline marked by the reservoir's white bathtub ring beneath a storm-streaked sky. Key Features: The Reservoir: Lake Powell is a man-made lake on the Colorado River, filling Glen Canyon across the Utah-Arizona line near Page. The Bathtub Ring: The pale band on the cliffs is mineral left on the Navajo sandstone as the water has dropped. The Landscape: Padre Bay is bounded by landmarks such as Alstrom Point and Gunsight Butte, whose layered red and white rock defines this shore. The Light: Warm light on the buttes against a darkening sky is the color contrast photographers come here for.

Arizona-Utah Border Near Page, Arizona

Deep blue water meets burnt-orange Navajo sandstone on Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, looking across Wahweap Bay to a rounded sandstone dome above the shore, with distant mesas and buttes fading into a darkening, storm-laden sky. Key Features: The Rock: Cross-bedded Navajo sandstone, formed from ancient desert dunes, gives the cliffs their glowing orange and gold. The Bathtub Ring: The pale band along the shore is mineral left as the water level has risen and fallen over the decades. The Reservoir: Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River created Lake Powell, flooding the canyon country below these cliffs. The Setting: Storm clouds and shifting desert light add drama to the layered canyon country.

Wahweap Bay On Lake Powell

Houseboats rest along the shore of Wahweap Bay on Lake Powell, seen looking south from the overlook near Page, Arizona, with sandstone buttes and mesas, Castle Rock among them, rising beyond the water under a broad, storm-streaked sky. Key Features: The Reservoir: Lake Powell filled after the Colorado River was dammed at Glen Canyon in the 1960s, a vast sheet of water framed by red rock desert. The Landscape: Layered Navajo sandstone cliffs and isolated buttes ring the bay, shaped over millions of years of erosion. The Town: Page, built to house the dam's workers, is now the main gateway for boating and sightseeing on the lake. The Light: Warm evening sun catches the distant rock towers as heavy clouds roll overhead.

Glen Canyon Dam

Orange cliffs catch the late light around Padre Bay on Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, with flat-topped buttes rising on the horizon and darker weather moving across the water below, a landscape of wind-carved Navajo and Entrada sandstone shaped long before the lake existed. Key Features: The Reservoir: Glen Canyon Dam began holding back the Colorado River in 1963, flooding the sandstone canyons of Glen Canyon to make Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States. The Rock: The glowing cliffs are Navajo sandstone, within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the Arizona-Utah line. The Buttes: Towers such as Gunsight Butte are remnants of the old plateau, left standing above the flooded canyon. The Light: Low sun breaking beneath storm clouds sets the canyon walls aglow.

Wahweap Overlook Near Page, Arizona

Dark water curls between sunlit cliffs below the sandstone rim of Wahweap Overlook near Page, Arizona, as a storm gathers overhead, looking south across Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to layered buttes on the horizon and the lights of distant buildings on the valley floor. Key Features: The Reservoir: Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River formed Lake Powell, known for its maze of flooded side canyons and sandstone walls. The Overlook: Just off US Highway 89 near Page, Wahweap Overlook has one of the widest elevated views of the lake and its rock formations. The Light: Warm sun on the cliffs against a darkening storm is what photographers wait for here. The Region: The distant mesas and plain are Navajo Nation land bordering Glen Canyon, part of the Colorado Plateau.

Lake Powell Sandstone Overlook

Two houseboats rest against a sandy point in a quiet turquoise cove of Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, seen from a sandstone overlook, with layered red and buff cliffs around the water and distant mesas catching late light beneath a brooding, storm-dark sky. Key Features: The Reservoir: By total storage, Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the United States. The Dam: Glen Canyon Dam rises above the Colorado River near Page, holding back the lake at the heart of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The Geology: The Navajo Sandstone cliffs are ancient desert dunes turned to stone some 190 million years ago. Recreation: Houseboating, boating, fishing, kayaking and exploring side canyons draw visitors all year.

Lake Powell Wahweap Overlook

Late sun breaks through incoming storm clouds to light distant Navajo sandstone cliffs in warm gold across Wahweap Bay on Lake Powell, seen from the Wahweap Overlook above the marina near Page, Arizona, over still, slate-blue water and a pale sandstone peninsula in front. Key Features: The Overlook: Wahweap Overlook stands on a sandstone knoll about 600 feet above the lake. The Panorama: The quick drive-up point looks out over Glen Canyon Dam, Navajo Mountain and the red rock desert around Page. The Water Level: Pale bands along the cliffs and shore mark the reservoir's rising and falling water. The Light: Facing west, the overlook is famous for sunsets, when the sun often slips beneath the clouds and sets the canyon walls aglow.

Wahweap Bay At Castle Rock

Late sunset light rakes the striped buttes of Castle Rock and the sandstone cliffs of Romana Mesa across Wahweap Bay on Lake Powell, near Page, Arizona, seen from above Wahweap Marina with houseboats clustered at the docks on the blue-green water under a storm-filled sky. Key Features: The Marina: Wahweap Marina is one of the largest on Lake Powell, a hub for houseboats and tour boats exploring Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Castle Rock: The glowing formation on the skyline is the signature landmark of the bay. The Reservoir: Glen Canyon Dam began holding back the Colorado River in 1963, creating the second-largest reservoir in the United States.

Wahweap Bay On Lake Powell Toward Castle Rock

Storm light breaks through dark clouds and sets Castle Rock and the cliffs around it ablaze in orange across Wahweap Bay on Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, the lake reflecting the passing weather beyond desert scrub in front. Key Features: The Landmark: Castle Rock, seen easily from the marina, is a favorite subject for sunset photographers. The Lake: Glen Canyon Dam held back the Colorado River and flooded the canyon system, creating this reservoir along the Arizona-Utah line. The Setting: The cliffs and buttes lie within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, known for its layered Navajo sandstone. The Light: Passing desert storms throw warm light onto the red rock while the sky darkens behind.

Still Waters Of Lake Powell

Tower Butte rises on the Navajo Nation south of Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, seen across the still water past a glowing orange sandstone shoreline, with smaller buttes and cliff lines along the horizon under a moody, storm-dark sky. Key Features: Tower Butte: A 5,287-foot sandstone summit on Navajo Nation land, towering more than 1,000 feet above the desert floor. The Reservoir: Lake Powell began filling in 1963, when Glen Canyon Dam held back the Colorado River. The Scale: Its winding shoreline and great length make it the second-largest reservoir in the United States. The Landscape: Banded orange sandstone and isolated towers tell of millions of years of erosion on the Colorado Plateau.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Golden late-day light sets sandstone buttes and cliffs ablaze against a dark, storm-laden sky from the Wahweap Bay shore of Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, with desert sage and sand stretching down to the lake's deep blue water. Key Features: The Reservoir: Formed by Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the United States by total storage. The Setting: The lake straddles Utah and Arizona within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Wahweap: Just north of Page, its overlooks are known for sunsets that deepen the red and orange of the Navajo sandstone. The Weather: Storm clouds and shifting light make the glowing rock stand out against the dark sky.

Gunsight Butte Lake Powell

Gunsight Butte, the sandstone sentinel of Gunsight Bay on Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, glows deep amber in low sun against a moody, storm-dark sky, rising sharply from a pale talus apron above the calm lake and distant mesas. Key Features: The Butte: An island formation of mostly Entrada Sandstone, towering nearly 1,000 feet above Lake Powell when the reservoir is full. The Bay: Gunsight Bay, named for the butte, is a popular anchorage ringed by sheer red rock walls and sandy coves. The Location: Within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, northeast of Page. The Light: A brief break of evening sun ahead of a desert storm lights the rock against the darkened sky.

Utah Arizona Border Near Page, Arizona

Pale sandstone domes rise from a quiet bay of Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona line near Page, Arizona, with layered red cliffs glowing behind them as a desert storm gathers overhead. Key Features: The Reservoir: Glen Canyon Dam backs up the Colorado River into Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States by total storage and one of the Southwest's great water playgrounds. The Setting: The lake runs from northern Arizona across the border into southern Utah, within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The Rock: The pale domes and striped red walls are Navajo sandstone, ancient dune fields later cut by the river and flooded by the lake. The Gateway Town: Page grew up while Glen Canyon Dam was being built and is now the main gateway to Lake Powell.

Wahweap Bay On Lake Powell

Castle Rock rises above Wahweap Bay on Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, its layered cliffs catching the last warm light of sunset as a departing storm trails deep blue clouds overhead and distant red mesas glow toward the Utah border. Key Features: Castle Rock: A prominent sandstone butte in Wahweap Bay, one of the most photographed formations on this stretch of the lake. Lake Powell: A reservoir on the Colorado River, formed by Glen Canyon Dam beginning in 1963, known for red rock canyons and sapphire water. Glen Canyon Country: The cliffs and mesas around the bay are Navajo and Page sandstone, carved over millions of years. Weather and Light: Storm clouds against sunset color are the dramatic desert light of this region.

Open Sage Flats Of The Colorado Plateau

Across the open sage flats of the Colorado Plateau near Page, Arizona, the towering escarpment of the Vermilion Cliffs rises in bands of red, orange and rust from talus slopes to a sheer wall beneath billowing clouds. Key Features: The Rock Layers: The cliffs are the resistant red sandstone beds of the Lower Jurassic Moenave and Kayenta Formations, capping older Triassic rock. The Monument: The escarpment lies within Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, managed by the Bureau of Land Management in far northern Arizona. The Reach: The cliffs run roughly from Page southwest toward the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Scale: They climb as much as 3,000 feet above the desert floor, dwarfing the sagebrush flats in front.

Vermilion Cliffs In House Rock Valley

Layered red and orange sandstone bands stretch for miles along the Vermilion Cliffs above House Rock Valley, seen from the sagebrush flats along U.S. Highway 89A, with scattered scrub and rolling slopes leading up to the sheer rock face under a wide sky of billowing cloud. Key Features: The Cliffs: Resistant red sandstone beds of the Lower Jurassic Moenave and Kayenta Formations give the rock its vivid color. The Coloring: Silt and desert dunes, cemented by carbonates, were stained deep red by iron oxide and other minerals. The Highway: U.S. 89A follows the base of the cliffs through House Rock Valley. The Scale: Along the southern edge of the Paria Plateau, the cliffs rise 3,000 feet above the valley floor.