Cathedral in the Desert

Cathedral in the Desert is a natural rock formation in Glen Canyon, Utah, at the head of Clear Water Canyon off the Escalante. Known as one of the canyon’s most evocative hidden spaces, it entered public memory through Phil Hyde’s 1964 photograph taken just before Lake Powell began to fill. The formation was then submerged by the reservoir and has usually remained underwater, reappearing only when water levels dropped sharply. It was visible during the Southwestern North American megadrought in 2005 and again in 2019. Its importance lies in this cycle of inundation and return and in its lasting place in Glen Canyon’s cultural memory.

Halls Crossing, Utah · United States