Colorado River Valley, Arizona, USA April 1998 This photograph shows a panoramic view of the Colorado River as it makes its way southwesterly towards the Gulf of California (upper left corner of image). Lake Powell and Lake Mead (dark, irregular shaped features left of center) help to identify the winding course of the Colorado River as it cuts through the elevated, desert landscape. The higher elevations of the Colorado Plateau northwest of the river are snow covered; while the Painted Desert southeast of the river is not. On its journey to the gulf the Colorado River is forced to detour around a key landmark, the triangular shaped Kaibab Plateau, that shows some covering of snow near the center of the photograph