The Grand Canyon is one of the most famous natural sites not only in the United States but also in the world. It's no wonder that the monument attracts nearly five million visitors every year.
When you head to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon in all its glory, you expect to see red rocks, a steep drop and plenty of tourists snapping selfies. However, what you might not expect to see deep into the canyon is, well, nothing.
That's exactly what the Grand Canyon National Park Service captured in a new video that's going viral. In the video, the one-mile deep, 277 mile-long canyon fills with clouds that make the Grand Canyon look like milk is getting poured into a cereal bowl and you're not able to see the bottom. It kind of just makes it look like you're on top of Mt. Olympus or something, admiring your earthly kingdom. It is truly a thing of beauty.
The video shows a one-minute time-lapse of an event that took 15 minutes in real time. Right now, the video has more than 45,000 views on YouTube and counting.
The event in the video is known as a total cloud inversion, which is a rare weather phenomenon. This is caused by what is known as a temperature inversion, when temperature increases with height in the atmosphere. The temperature inversion occurred at night with clear skies and calm winds, making the ground lose heat stored during the day. A cold and moist air mass came into the canyon during this past week, which got trapped under the warmer air above and brought in the fog that settled on the canyon's rim.
Though this phenomenon is said to only happen once every several years, a total cloud inversion came to the Grand Canyon in late November last year as well. The National Park Service also snapped some amazing photos of that event. I don't think any of us would mind if this awe-inspiring sight became a yearly occurrence.
Check out the full video below, and be prepared to be left speechless.
