It's a stunning view of a U-turn in the Colorado River near the border of Arizona

and Utah.

In the early 90s, this spot was a hidden gem — accessible by an unmarked dirt trail off

the side of the highway.

Locals described it as “nearly empty” — and that “hardly anybody knew about

it.”

But over the years, its popularity grew: first slowly...

… and then suddenly.

Until it became this.

In this past this used to be that this place would get maybe

a few thousand visitors every single year.

Now, that number is more like 1.5 million.

And it keeps growing.

That change didn't happen because of any big marketing push.

It happened because of geotagged pictures like these.

Digital popularity is physically changing the landscape.

This place — and other public lands like it — are trying to adjust.

Social media — I believe — was the main trigger.

That explosion — just — has been overwhelming.

You can see that social media explosion when you look at the rate of Google searches for

Horseshoe Bend.

But it isn't the only previously-hidden spot that's become internet famous.

Similar increases have happened at Devil's Bathtub, a swimming hole in Virginia...

… Kanarraville Falls, a waterfall trail in Utah...

… and Vance Creek Bridge, an old railroad overpass in Washington.

So why are these places getting so much attention?

For outdoor photographers searching for the perfect shot, Instagram made things easy:

The app's interface put geotagging — the practice of attaching location data to a picture

— front and center.

And if a hidden spot didn't already have a location tag available, anyone could create

one.

These Instagram hotspots were often located either just outside protected lands, or far

off the beaten path.

So as America's National Parks became more popular than ever,

these places started getting National Park-level crowds without having National

Park-level infrastructure.

Federally protected areas require a ton of planning and work to keep people and the environment

safe.

There wasn't a developed trail here.

There weren't any restroom facilities.

There was no railing.

It was an undeveloped site.

Without that infrastructure, the natural landscape can be damaged — and people following geotagging

trends are at risk of injury or death.

At Conundrum Hot Springs in Colorado, visitors disturbed wildlife, cut down trees for firewood,

and left behind an overwhelming amount of human waste.

And at Kaaterskill Falls in New York, at least four people have died while taking or posing

for pictures.

So at Horseshoe Bend, trail designers are getting to work.

The park service and the city of Page are creating over 400 parking spaces, a welcome

center, bathrooms, a viewing deck with safety railings, and laser-equipped signs to count

attendance.

And they're building a new ADA-compliant trail, lined with limestone to protect the

surrounding environment and reinforced with magnesium chloride to keep gravel in place.

Throughout the trail, all the improvements that we're doing are aimed at creating as

natural an environment as possible.

It's a difficult balance.

You're not going to stop people from going to the rim's edge and trying to capture that

iconic photo.

We don't want to wall it off.

So all we can do is implore that people be safe.

For places like Kanarraville Falls in Utah, that concern for safety extends to their residents,

too.

The town's water comes from a spring near the falls, where's it's piped to tanks

near the canyon entrance.

It used to be a local secret — but in 2016, 40,000 people hiked that trail, disturbing

the water source and leaving debris behind.

It shares so quick, and it gets out there so fast, that people can look at it

and say “Oh wow, look at that!”

Then they tap on the photo, and it'll tell where it was from or where it was taken.

Things like that, and people go wild over it.

You can imagine what that does to the canyon floor, the trail, the water

— people in and out.

We've just tried to take adequate measures to try to work with the ecosystem, and

not have it ruin our water source.

Others are taking a different approach: there's now a growing movement in the nature photography

scene against geotagging.

So, in 1999 this organization called Leave No Trace came up with a set of guidelines

for people to use while they're in the outdoors.

These are things like don't leave trash behind, don't interfere with wildlife, leave

everything as it was when you saw it.

And now in 2018 they've announced that they're encouraging people not to geotag photos while

they're in nature.

We've always had the tendency to explore — and sometimes be irresponsible in nature.

Modern technology just amplifies those urges.

With so many natural wonders at our fingertips today, it's even more urgent that we treat

them with respect and care — before it's too late.

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