[Extra]Leaving Greenland – gap year Arctic trips (IX)

Our flight out of Greenland happened to be the final flight of 2025 between Greenland and the US.

While thick clouds still hung over the Labrador Sea, we managed to catch quite a few glimpses of the landscape below. On the flight later from New York back to the West Coast, the skies remained perfectly clear and the light was brilliant the entire way, and that’s why I decided to write this special “extra bonus” chapter to note down what we saw from the air, as the official finale to my 2025 gap year Arctic travel series.

Greenland

Early morning in Nuuk was overcast with heavy clouds, but once the plane took off, we could see the jagged horns piercing through the clouds from above.

*The jagged horns are visible rising high above the clouds.*

We finally found ourselves at eye level with the summit of Sermitsiaq after looking up at it for days.

*The southwest coast of Greenland remained shyly tucked away behind a veil of clouds, though the snow-capped mountains in the distance stood out in sharp relief.*

Eastern Canada

Our plane officially entered the Labrador region of Canada after crossing the Labrador Sea. Looking down from above, we could see countless lakes scattered across this vast wilderness. These lakes were all formed by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age.

*Left: The Ashuanipi River and Smallwood Reservoir in the Labrador region. Right: Sims Lake in Labrador.*

Continuing south, we entered the province of Quebec. The landscape is mostly hilly to the north of the Saint Lawrence River, while the area to the south opens up into vast alluvial plains.

*Left: Lake Sainte-Anne in Quebec. Right: The Saint Lawrence River.*

Midwestern US

Entering back in the US was quite smooth, and after a brief layover rest, we boarded our second flight.

This leg of the journey took us from east to west across the entire US: we first flew over the lake regions of the Midwest and the Mississippi River Basin, where the landscape is dominated by plains. Once we reached Colorado, the terrain shifted to rugged mountains and deserts, making the scenery even more spectacular.

Left: The long, straight stretch of beach along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, with the smaller Muskegon Lake visible in the photo. Right: Lake McConaughy in Nebraska, created by the Kingsley Dam on the North Platte River.

Snow-capped mountains and autumn colors of Colorado

Our flight entered the Rocky Mountains just north of Denver. Looking toward the north, we could see the peaks of the Northern Rockies, Rocky Mountain National Park, and the river valley at the headwaters of the Colorado River.

This area marks the central portion of the Continental Divide: to the west, the waters flow toward the Pacific, while to the east, they drain toward the Atlantic.

An aerial view of the Rocky Mountains near the headwaters of the Colorado River. The image on the left is the original photo, while the one on the right includes annotations, with the dashed pink line indicating the Continental Divide. Rivers to the west of the range, on the left side of the image, flow toward the Pacific, whereas those to the east drain into the Atlantic.

As we moved deeper into the Rockies, the valleys were filled with forests that had already turned a brilliant, golden yellow, creating a striking contrast against the landscape.

*Left: Autumn foliage along the Williams Fork Range and Ute Peak. Right: The Roaring Fork Valley, with the T-shaped intersection marking the city of Glenwood Springs, Colorado.*

*Horse Mountain near the town of Parachute, Colorado.*

Arriving over Grand Junction, we can see the vast alluvial plains formed by the Colorado River.

Grand Junction and the eastern stretch of the Book Cliffs. The Colorado River flows out of the Rocky Mountains from east to west, forming a sprawling alluvial plain that has since been cultivated into farmland.

Utah’s rugged and deeply carved red earth landscape

Shortly after passing Grand Junction, we crossed into Utah. While the name Colorado literally means red in Spanish, its landscapes pale in comparison to the vibrant red rock layers of Utah.

The red earth terrain and Castle Valley east of Moab are absolutely spectacular from the air. Over millions of years, the Colorado River and its tributaries have carved deep canyons and intricate gullies into red rock formations that were deposited hundreds of millions of years ago.

*In the foreground is Castle Valley, with the Colorado River cutting across from right to left. Arches National Park is visible in the upper left, while the Fisher Towers stand to the right.*

Since there are so many points of interest in the photo above, I have labeled some of them in the image below.

*Labeled geology features – Arches National Park, Castle Valley, Fisher Towers, etc.*

We arrived over Moab soon after. The valley here is a massive anticline.

*The town of Moab and the Spanish Valley extend north to south, while the winding Colorado River cuts across from east to west.*

As our flight continued west, we were treated to a full aerial view of Canyonlands National Park just past Moab. Having just visited there in April 2025, seeing it again from above left an even deeper impression.

Left: Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands National Park, with the bright blue potash evaporation ponds of a nearby mine visible in the lower right. Right: The Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands National Park, a structure formed by the upward movement of underlying salt layers.

West of Canyonlands National Park, the Waterpocket Fold and Capitol Reef National Park come into view. This area is defined by a massive north-south monocline.

*The spectacular Waterpocket Fold and Capitol Reef National Park (left).*

West of Capitol Reef National Park lie the Aquarius Plateau, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and the town of Escalante.

*Left: Near the alluvial fans at the southern edge of the Aquarius Plateau lies the small town of Escalante, Utah. Right: Powell Point and the Kaiparowits formation sandstones.*

I then took a quick nap. When I woke up, we were already over Zion National Park. This was my first time taking in the full sweep of Zion from the air.

*Zion National Park. The prominent peak just to the left of the center is the East Temple.*

*Zion National Park in the distance, with Canaan Mountain in the foreground just to the south.*

Nevada

After leaving Utah, our flight path crossed into the southernmost tip of Nevada. It passed directly over Lake Mead. This lake is a vast expanse of water created by the Hoover Dam impounding the Colorado River, situated just east of Las Vegas.

*Lake Mead and South Virgin Mountains. Valley of Fire is the red area to the right.*

With that, the entire Arctic journey series comes to a close!