Plateau Point and Phantom Ranch
This is a view from Yavapai Point on the Grand Canyon's South Rim in the middle of the day, but with enough clouds and shadow to give some definition. The Plateau Point Trail can be seen clearly on the Tonto Platform in the left of the view. The gulch to the immediate right of that contains the Bright Angel Trail which descends all the way to the Colorado River.
In the centre of the image is a bright flash of green foliage. Those trees shelter Phantom Ranch, the only lodging to be found below the canyon's rim. Adjacent to the Bright Angel Campground, it sits at the bottom of the North Kaibab Trail, which goes up to the North Rim on the far horizon.
Just to the right of that the Colorado River can just be seen again. Crossing the river on the far right of that glimpse is the Black Suspension Bridge (which can just be made out on the original size). The bridge connects the North and South Kaibab Trails. All the materials for the bridge had to be walked down from the rim, including each of the 550-foot long, one-ton suspension cables.
Although the image shows no sign of the stuff, there was some 10cm of snow on the South Rim and the North Rim, 300m higher, was closed due to heavy snow. But the following day, when I was at Phantom Ranch, the temperature was 72˚F!
A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Scanned from a negative.
Plateau Point and Phantom Ranch
This is a view from Yavapai Point on the Grand Canyon's South Rim in the middle of the day, but with enough clouds and shadow to give some definition. The Plateau Point Trail can be seen clearly on the Tonto Platform in the left of the view. The gulch to the immediate right of that contains the Bright Angel Trail which descends all the way to the Colorado River.
In the centre of the image is a bright flash of green foliage. Those trees shelter Phantom Ranch, the only lodging to be found below the canyon's rim. Adjacent to the Bright Angel Campground, it sits at the bottom of the North Kaibab Trail, which goes up to the North Rim on the far horizon.
Just to the right of that the Colorado River can just be seen again. Crossing the river on the far right of that glimpse is the Black Suspension Bridge (which can just be made out on the original size). The bridge connects the North and South Kaibab Trails. All the materials for the bridge had to be walked down from the rim, including each of the 550-foot long, one-ton suspension cables.
Although the image shows no sign of the stuff, there was some 10cm of snow on the South Rim and the North Rim, 300m higher, was closed due to heavy snow. But the following day, when I was at Phantom Ranch, the temperature was 72˚F!
A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Scanned from a negative.