Arizona, USA
The Horseshoe Bend, Arizona
This natural formation is located near Page, Arizona, and is a beautiful meander of the Colorado River as seen from the top of the 1,000-foot tall Navajo Sandstone. The modern astonishing view is the product of millions of years of geological activity fueled by the Colorado Plateau uplift, and the Colorado river slowly carved its way through the rock and formed the modern horseshoe shape that we observe today.
The beautiful and iconic layered landscape is a product of the dynamic interplay between the processes of land uplift, rock formation, sediment deposition and erosion, all of which take a lot of time to be noticeable and only become evident after thousands of years.
Perhaps not surprisingly, archaeological studies show that humans already lived in this area over 10,000 years ago. And who wouldn’t? imagine waking up everyday to this beauty!
Photo by Kavya Manyapu
San Francisco Volcanic Fields, Northern Arizona
Have you ever wanted to walk on the surface of the moon? As challenging as it can be to physically go to the Moon, there are many places here on Earth that have a similar surface. One of such paces are the lava fields of Northern Arizona. In fact, this area was selected in the 1960s to train astronauts and to be able to test their suits and equipment in a lunar-like surface.
NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas are working with a team in the Artemis III mission, which aims to bring the first woman and first person of color on the moon’s South Pole. Recently, they practiced simulated moonwalks wearing mockup space suits and also tested special equipment that they’ll bring on the mission.
Photo by Kavya Manyapu