Archive All Issues June 2025

CHASING RAINBOWS

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A rainbow is a multicolored arc made by light striking water droplets. According to National Geographic, “Light entering a water droplet is refracted. It's then reflected by the back of the droplet. As that reflected light leaves the droplet, it's refracted again, at multiple angles.” We have plenty of light in Arizona. All we need now is some water.

Featured in the June 2025 Issue of Arizona Highways

BY: Jeff Kida and Keith Whitney (Portfolio Editors)
Another double rainbow contrasts with late-afternoon clouds near Stoneman Lake, south of Flagstaff. This photo was made during the summer monsoon, which officially lasts from June 15 to September 30. | Byron Neslen
Another double rainbow contrasts with late-afternoon clouds near Stoneman Lake, south of Flagstaff. This photo was made during the summer monsoon, which officially lasts from June 15 to September 30. | Byron Neslen

 

A rainbow appears to erupt from one of the ancient boulder formations at the Granite Dells, which cradle the Prescott area's Watson Lake. The coarse-grained granite that makes up the Granite Dells is about 1.4 billion years old. | Theresa Rose Ditson
A rainbow appears to erupt from one of the ancient boulder formations at the Granite Dells, which cradle the Prescott area's Watson Lake. The coarse-grained granite that makes up the Granite Dells is about 1.4 billion years old. | Theresa Rose Ditson

 

Long shadows on the buttes of the Grand Canyon punctuate a stormy panorama from Lipan Point, on the South Rim. A favorite among Canyon photographers, Lipan Point is known for its view of the Colorado River. | Mark Laverman
Long shadows on the buttes of the Grand Canyon punctuate a stormy panorama from Lipan Point, on the South Rim. A favorite among Canyon photographers, Lipan Point is known for its view of the Colorado River. | Mark Laverman

 

The arc of a rainbow parallels the curve of a waterfall on Indian Creek, a tributary of the Hassayampa River. The creek, which flows seasonally, empties into the Hassayampa south of Prescott. | Theresa Rose Ditson
The arc of a rainbow parallels the curve of a waterfall on Indian Creek, a tributary of the Hassayampa River. The creek, which flows seasonally, empties into the Hassayampa south of Prescott. | Theresa Rose Ditson

 

The Totem Pole (left) and Yei Bichei, two sandstone formations in the Navajo Nation’s Monument Valley, reach toward a rainbow and a cloudy sky. In Navajo traditions, rainbows are seen as pathways used by holy spirits. | Doug Koepsel
The Totem Pole (left) and Yei Bichei, two sandstone formations in the Navajo Nation’s Monument Valley, reach toward a rainbow and a cloudy sky. In Navajo traditions, rainbows are seen as pathways used by holy spirits. | Doug Koepsel

 

A resplendent double rainbow arcs over endless wildflowers in Robinson Crater, part of the Flagstaff area’s San Francisco Volcanic Field. This area contains more than 600 volcanoes, the youngest of which erupted about 950 years ago. | Laura Zirino
A resplendent double rainbow arcs over endless wildflowers in Robinson Crater, part of the Flagstaff area’s San Francisco Volcanic Field. This area contains more than 600 volcanoes, the youngest of which erupted about 950 years ago. | Laura Zirino

 

Amid falling rain from an isolated storm cell, a pair of rainbows appear over the sandstone buttes of Red Rock Country at sunset. In theory, all rainbows are double rainbows, but the secondary rainbow is often too faint to be seen. | Theresa Rose Ditson
Amid falling rain from an isolated storm cell, a pair of rainbows appear over the sandstone buttes of Red Rock Country at sunset. In theory, all rainbows are double rainbows, but the secondary rainbow is often too faint to be seen. | Theresa Rose Ditson