Grand rainbow in the canyon

BY JUDY SKATSSOON

The Navajo named it "The Rainbow That Turned Into Stone".

But to white people it's known as Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge in the world.

We reach the massive sandstone structure, located in a remote part of Glen Canyon at the foot of Navajo Mountain, after a more than two hour boat trip from Lake Powell in northwestern Arizona not far from the border with Utah.

Glen Canyon is a narrow, undulating chasm straddling Arizona and Utah, its towering red walls carved millions of years ago by the Colorado River.

It is flooded by Lake Powell, a man-made reservoir, and is part of what's known as the ''Grand Circle'' of national parks including Zion and Grand Canyon.

The bridge is massive, standing more than 88 metres high and spanning 84 metres across. Dwarfed, you can only gaze up at it in awe.

The bridge is sacred to the Navajo people who own the land, and signs request that visitors don't walk underneath it out of respect.

According to Navajo legend, Rainbow Bridge was created after a god called Changing Woman who gave birth to twin boys.

When the boys were young men, their tribe came under attack from evil monsters, so they decided to find their father and ask for help.

Another deity, called Spider Woman, told the boys their father was the sun, so they travelled up to him on a rainbow.

He armed the twins with lightning bolts and sun rays and they came back down on the rainbow  and defeated the monsters.

The rainbow was turned to stone as a tribute to their bravery and strength.

According to a less colourful story, the bridge was created by the waters of a creek flowing into  the Colorado River.

Lake Powell, something of a houseboating mecca for Americans, is admittedly more popular with holiday makers than some environmentalists.

However, the lake does make Rainbow Bridge much more easily accessible. Without a boat, this natural wonder could only be reached by helicopter, plane or a strenuous three day hike.

The Lake Powell resort, a few minutes drive from Page, Arizona, offers full and half day boat tours of Glen Canyon from the Wahweap Marina.

The temperature is around 30degC on the day of our tour and the sky is big and blue enough to make any Aussie feel at home. A light breeze blows as we board the Desert Reflection at 9am with 33 other passengers.

As well as taking us to Rainbow Bridge, we'll be exploring other parts of Glen Canyon including the sheer cliff walls and narrow waterways of the beautiful Anasazi and Cascade Canyons.

During the boat trip, our captain, Melvin, describes some of the massive rock formations that tower above the lake. Their names reflect their scale and grandeur: Castle Rock, where Planet of  the Apes was filmed; Tower Butte, Crown Point, Churchsteeple Rock and Gunsight Butte, which formed the backdrop for the skydiving scene in the 1991 film Point Break.

Pop Star Britney Spears also chose Lake Powell as the backdrop for the video for her 2001 song I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman, he says.

The scenery is breathtaking, and in some parts the water is so still you can't tell where rocks end and reflection begins.

At our destination we get off the boat and take a short walk to Rainbow Bridge.

Park ranger Terry Bell says Native Americans still use the area around Rainbow Bridge for ceremonies and collecting herbs including juniper berries, Yucca and the hallucinogenic cactus peyote, or "moonflower".

"(Peyote) is illegal for us but it's part of their religious beliefs," she says.

Ground squirrels scamper across the path, and Bell points out a dinosaur footprint in the rock just metres from the bridge.

Three clawed toes are clearly visible, a prehistoric remnant from 65 million years ago.

"It was probably a T-Rex or some sort of predator," she says.

The full tour takes seven hours, including a one-and-a-half hour stop to explore Rainbow Bridge and a rest at Dangling Rope Marina for an icecream, snack and wander through the souvenir shop.

Native Americans knew about the Rainbow Bridge for thousands of years, but it was only discovered by a team of white explorers who had heard stories of the legendary structure, in 1909.

Today, 100 years after its rediscovery, it the most photographed geological feature in the American West.

Whether you're passing through on the way to the Grand Canyon or seeking out some of America's lesser known wilderness areas, Glen Canyon is a site well worth a visit for its scale, grandeur and sheer sense of other-worldliness. And one very big sandstone bridge.

IF YOU GO

Flights are available into Page, Arizona from major airports.

For information about Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas visit Lakepowell.com.

For information about the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area visit Nps.gov/glca.

- AAP