For many years, it was reported that the number of “clear” days at the Grand Canyon was dropping, and one of the reasons given was the pollution from Navajo Generating Station, which was the biggest coal-fired plant in the US. Well, NGS has been shut down for a number of years now (I just drove by the abandoned coal silos yesterday ). Has this actually improved the view at GC?
The last time I was there, this city boy was shocked when reminded by the night sky there is this thing called the Milky Way. So, yeah, clear skies.
The NPS site has several webcams. Visibility looks pretty good at the moment.
I was at the North Rim not long ago. I stayed at the Lodge just before it burned down. We had an excellent rim view cabin. Absolutely stunning. We also drove out to Toroweap Overlook. That’s 60+ miles of trail from Colorado City AZ to get to.
Visibility and the air quality looked excellent, to my untrained eye (I wasn’t looking for air pollution).
A reminder: This is FQ, not IMHO. “The last time I was there”, “at the moment”, and “not long ago” are all anecdotes, not data.
Since the OP asked about whether the view has improved, informal information does not seem inappropriate to this non-moderator.
The OP also essentially said s/he was just there — “I just drove by”. Perhaps this should be moved out of FQ.
No, I said I drove by the abandoned coal silos near Kayenta. It just reminded me to ask.
I wonder if there is a chart of daily visibility somewhere.
I stand by what I said.
Right - NGS, not the Canyon.
Got it. I thought Navajo Generating Station was in the park, but it’s not. Thank you for the correction.