A hoodoo sunrise . . .
For a change, this morning’s sunrise did not involve an alarm at an unreasonable hour (stupid o’clock), a long drive or even a long and arduous hike to get to the location for the sunrise. We were staying in the Bryce Canyon Lodge located within the national park, so we were a 10-minute walk from the rim of the canyon and just a little farther to the vantage point, aptly named Sunrise Point (8017 feet). I chose a slightly lower location along the Queens Garden Trail to set up for this image. It was an experience watching as the sun rose and highlighted the canyon of hoodoos making the colours even more bold and dramatic combined with the long shadows resulting from the low early light.
Today’s geology lesson: Hoodoos have a variable thickness or "totem pole-shaped body” while a spire has a smoother profile that tapers up from the ground. Hoodoos range from 5 to 150 feet tall and are composed of siltstone and mudstone but are predominantly limestone. The different coloured layers of the hoodoos are a result of different mineral deposits within the various rock layers. The hoodoos were formed when this area of Utah was covered by an “ancient lake”.
. . . you can now say you learned something new, not related to photography, on Flickr ;-)
If you plan to visit Bryce Canyon National Park, a stay in the park lodge is the way to go! You’re only 10 minutes from the rim and the routes down into the hoodoos, no parking issues and when the crowds leave in the late afternoon . . . sublime! Be aware there is no television, radio or cell phone reception and Wi-Fi is extremely limited if at all . . . but we were here for the views and the hiking, so we didn’t mind!
Best viewed Large(L)
A hoodoo sunrise . . .
For a change, this morning’s sunrise did not involve an alarm at an unreasonable hour (stupid o’clock), a long drive or even a long and arduous hike to get to the location for the sunrise. We were staying in the Bryce Canyon Lodge located within the national park, so we were a 10-minute walk from the rim of the canyon and just a little farther to the vantage point, aptly named Sunrise Point (8017 feet). I chose a slightly lower location along the Queens Garden Trail to set up for this image. It was an experience watching as the sun rose and highlighted the canyon of hoodoos making the colours even more bold and dramatic combined with the long shadows resulting from the low early light.
Today’s geology lesson: Hoodoos have a variable thickness or "totem pole-shaped body” while a spire has a smoother profile that tapers up from the ground. Hoodoos range from 5 to 150 feet tall and are composed of siltstone and mudstone but are predominantly limestone. The different coloured layers of the hoodoos are a result of different mineral deposits within the various rock layers. The hoodoos were formed when this area of Utah was covered by an “ancient lake”.
. . . you can now say you learned something new, not related to photography, on Flickr ;-)
If you plan to visit Bryce Canyon National Park, a stay in the park lodge is the way to go! You’re only 10 minutes from the rim and the routes down into the hoodoos, no parking issues and when the crowds leave in the late afternoon . . . sublime! Be aware there is no television, radio or cell phone reception and Wi-Fi is extremely limited if at all . . . but we were here for the views and the hiking, so we didn’t mind!
Best viewed Large(L)