TRAVEL

Rare Look: Spectacular Photos Capture the Grand Canyon Filled With Fog

Weekend visitors witnessed a “once in a decade” weather event

Perrin Doniger

December 5, 2013

Watchtower Near Desert View Point on the South Rim. Photo courtesy of Erin Huggins/Grand Canyon National Park Service.

Mather Point on the South Rim. Photo courtesy of Erin Huggins/Grand Canyon National Park Service.

Desert View Point on the South Rim. Photo courtesy of Erin Huggins/Grand Canyon National Park Service.

Shoshone Point on the South Rim. Photo courtesy of Erin Huggins/Grand Canyon National Park Service.

Desert View Point Looking East at Cedar Mountain, South Rim Photo courtesy of Erin Huggins/Grand Canyon National Park Service.

Last weekend, visitors to the Grand Canyon were treated to a "once in a decade" view: the Canyon filled to the rim with dense white fog.

The phenomenon, called a "cloud inversion," occurs when warm air moves over the Canyon, sealing in cooler air and preventing ground fog from dissipating. According to the Park Service, the weather event occurs in some form once or twice a year, but usually fills only part of the Canyon or is obscured by clouds. The weekend's clear skies and thick fog made for an "outstanding, crazy, amazing, [and] mind blowing" show, according to the Park Service's Facebook Page, an event "rangers wait for years to see." Luckily two rangers, Erin Higgins and Erin Whittaker, had cameras on hand to snap these incredible shots.