Painted Landscape

Lake Powell, UT

August 21, 2013

Bordering Utah and Arizona and named for the regions first explorer, John Powell, Lake Powell is formed from the waters of what was once called “Red River,” or “Rio Colorado.” The region has served as home for a number of indigenous peoples, including the Anasazi, Hopi, Apache, Ute, Navajo and Mohave nations.

Although the current lake is a man-made construct, the area had originally been part of an inland sea formed from a lava-sediment dam with water reaching as far north as Moab, Utah. The natural dam eventually collapsed from the same cause as the eventual fall of the earlier farming cultures: periods of drought marked by flash flooding with its subsequent erosion, the same patterns which continue to paint the vividly striking yet harsh landscape today.

The titles have been derived from Navajo creation myth.