Horseshoe Bend, River meander in Coconino County, United States.
Horseshoe Bend is a sharp river meander in Coconino County, Arizona, where the Colorado cuts a nearly complete loop through massive Navajo Sandstone. The cliffs rise roughly 1,000 feet above the riverbed and form a natural gallery of layered red and orange rock walls.
The river began cutting into the rock roughly six million years ago when tectonic uplift raised the region and forced the water to carve deeper into the layers. The modern profile developed through millennia of continuous erosion that slowly wore away the soft sandstone.
The Navajo Nation borders the southern bank of the river and considers the Colorado a sacred element of their ancestral landscape. Visitors often see rangers and locals sharing stories about the spiritual significance of the water and red rocks for indigenous communities.
An unpaved trail just over half a mile long leads from the parking lot to the overlook and can be very hot and exposed on sunny days. There are no railings or barriers at the edge, so caution is needed, especially in wind or with children.
The best light for photography occurs in late morning when the sun shines directly into the gorge and intensifies the colors of the rock walls. Many visitors miss this window because they arrive too early or too late in the day.
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