as experienced at the Potash Road petroglyph panels near Moab, Utah.
First morning light flares through a gap in the jointed sandstone on the opposite side of the Colorado River.
Direct rays of the rising Sun are strongly controlled by the jointed terrain to the southeast, limiting the places where the cliff is first illuminated along the Potash Road.
Another view showing the rising Sun’s rays striking the sandstone escarpment along the Potash Road at the equinox. Terrain models are from Photo Ephemeris website, a planning tool I use for astrophotography.
My long shadow projected on a fully lit panel around 7:30 am MDT.
Rock art expert Rory Tyler at one of the many small petroglyph sites along the Potash Road.