Plateau Journal: Dusk to Dawn

Authors: Susan Zwinger, Von Del Chamberlain, Andre Bormanis, Warren Miller  

Publication Date: Summer 1998 

Volume 2, Number 1

“Moonless nights on the Colorado Plateau are profoundly dark – until you look up. In a place of little water and high altitudes, the planets seem to rain down upon summer porches at midnight and the Milky Way is a dense broth of stars. The aperture at its apex, called ‘Heaven’s Gate’ by the ancient Egyptians stands mysteriously ajar. Once out lenses are adjusted, even we vision-bound creatures can navigate by starlight alone. And when the moon is waxing, the high deserts and forests are bather in ecliptic light that seems simultaneously to reveal and occlude every particle of rock, every detail of vegetation, and shadows are as legible as the forms they describe. This issue of Plateau Journal celebrates a unique gift of place, our amazing night, in hopes that we might all do what we can to preserve it. The sun has set. Turn out the lights and look around.” - Editors 

Plateau magazine is dedicated to inspiring and educating readers by showcasing the scientific, artistic and cultural wonders of the Colorado Plateau region.

 A publication of the Museum of Northern Arizona