Storm Light Over the Canyon's Red Buttes

A wide panorama of the Grand Canyon under a heavy, unsettled sky. Dark gray cloud banks fill the upper half of the frame, broken by pale gaps and a few patches of blue. In the foreground, layered cliffs of rust-red and tan rock cut across the lower right, and a sandstone ledge with a few shrubs rises on the left. In the middle distance, a large flat-topped butte sits among deep side canyons. Beyond it, the ridges fade to blue-gray toward a long, level horizon. The colours are muted and earthy, and the mood is quiet and a little brooding.

The view is from the Rim Trail east of Mather Point on the South Rim, one of the park's busiest overlooks. The horizontal banding in the rock is the layered stratigraphy that the canyon is known for. Summer thunderstorms are common here, mostly from July to early September and in the afternoon, and they can bring lightning, heavy rain and flash floods. The 3000×1257 pixel panorama suits ultrawide monitors and dual-screen setups best. On a standard display it works well with the sky at the top, where icons can sit over the clouds.

More like this: Pale Limestone Ledge Above a Wide Valley and Pale Grizzly Foraging in Denali Tundra.