Carved by Water and Time (15 images)

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  • The Navajo call Lower Antelope Canyon Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches;' to many long time locals, it is simply know as the Corkscrew. Its twisting passage through the petrified sand dunes of the Navajo Sandstone can feel like a fissure in the earth's crust when the sun's light bounces and illuminate's the swirling stone in hues of a burning fire.

  • Carved through iron rich Navajo Sandstone, Antelope Canyon is one the many slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau sculpted by flash floods during the monsoon season of late summer. Though these slot canyons are carved into many different geological layers of sandstone and limestone, it is the Navajo Sandstone, formed from the petrified sand dunes of a large Jurassic desert similar to the Sahara Desert of today, that often become the richest canvas for the flash floods to carve their masterpieces through...The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse' bighanilini, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." It is one of the largest attractions for those traveling through the Glen Canyon area, especially during mid-day when the summer light of the afternoon streams straight down into the canyon through the narrow opening at the top of the canyon that act like a lens, which focuses beams of etherial light into the cavern below.

  • The Navajo call Lower Antelope Canyon Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches;' to many long time locals, it is simply know as the Corkscrew. Its twisting passage through the petrified sand dunes of the Navajo Sandstone can feel like a fissure in the earth's crust when the sun's light bounces and illuminate's the swirling stone in hues of a burning fire.

  • Deep in the lower slot of Canyon X, the sun only penetrates to the canyon floor for an exceptionally brief period around the Summer Solstice. A beam of light appears and disappears several time as the sun moves across the sky. Its first appearance crawls down from the rock wall to briefly illuminate the canyon floor at a narrow point between two rooms.

  • The Navajo call Lower Antelope Canyon Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches." As you walk and climb through Lower Antelope Canyon, you are actually traversing through the depths of an ancient sand dune. Navajo Sandstone dates back to giant and ancient sand dune field that covered much of what is the western interior of the United States approximately 180 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. After the sand dunes were formed, layer upon layer of new strata was added over millions of years, compressing the sand dunes into sandstone. As the petrified sand dunes erode, ancient patterns of cross-bedding - the layers of sand laid down from different angles over time - are revealed.

  • Carved through iron rich Navajo Sandstone, Antelope Canyon is one the many slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau sculpted by flash floods during the monsoon season of late summer. Though these slot canyons are carved into many different geological layers of sandstone and limestone, it is the Navajo Sandstone, formed from the petrified sand dunes of a large Jurassic desert similar to the Sahara Desert of today, that often become the richest canvas for the flash floods to carve their masterpieces through. These canyons become otherworldly sculptures of stone that slowly evolve over time.

  • Deep in the lower slot of Canyon X, the sun only penetrates to the canyon floor for an exceptionally brief period around the Summer Solstice. A beam of light appears and disappears several time as the sun moves across the sky. Its last hurray can be seen in a distant room through a low arch in the canyon's wall.

  • The Navajo call Lower Antelope Canyon Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches'; to many long time locals, it is simply know as the Corkscrew. Its twisting passage through the petrified sand dunes of the Navajo Sandstone have been carved over time by the forces of water and wind; often, these rocks take on other shapes such as this formation which resembles the crashing ocean waves along a rocky coast.

  • Carved through iron rich Navajo Sandstone, Canyon X is one the many slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau sculpted by flash floods during the monsoon season of late summer. Though these slot canyons are carved through many different geologic layers of sandstone and limestone, it is the Navajo Sandstone formed from the petrified sand dunes of a large Jurassic desert similar to the Sahara Desert of today that often become the richest canvas for the flash floods to carve their masterpieces through...Canyon X is an isolated canyon on the Navajo Reservation accessible only with a guide through Overland Tours in Page, Arizona. Unlike Antelope Canyon, which can receive hundreds of visitors a day, Canyon X provides an astonishing level of solitude to those that venture down its steep slopes to explore its depths.

  • Though the slot canyons carved through Navajo Sandstone often share similar structure and features, each is a unique work of art that constantly changes through time with each passing flash flood. Secret Canyon offers a passage that is not always obvious to the eye...Secret Canyon is a remote slot canyon on the Navajo Reservation accessible only with a guide from Slot Canyon Hummer Tours in Page, Arizona who will drive you across a forbidding off-road trail of sand and slickrock. Unlike Antelope Canyon, which can receive hundreds of visitors a day, Secret Canyon offers an experience of solitude and wonder...Navajo Sandstone formed from the petrified sand dunes of a large Jurassic desert similar to the Sahara Desert of today that often become the richest canvas for the flash floods to carve their masterpieces through.

  • Antelope Canyon, near Page, Arizona and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, is actually two canyons. The more famous Upper Antelope Canyon, which is a short, flat, and mostly wide slot canyon carved through a hump of Navajo Sandstone, and Lower Antelope Canyon, a little further downstream, which carves down into the Navajo Sandstone rim that lines Glen Canyon and empties into the Colorado River and Lake Powell. ..The Navajo call Lower Antelope Canyon Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches." The lower canyon can be deeper and narrower than the upper canyon and produces a wide variety of interesting formations. Well above the canyon floor, rock carved by water, wind, and time undulates and the canyon's walls overlap each other obscuring the way.

  • Though the slot canyons carved through Navajo Sandstone often share similar structure and features, each is a unique work of art that constantly changes through time with each passing flash flood. Secret Canyon offers a passage that is not always obvious to the eye...Secret Canyon is a remote slot canyon on the Navajo Reservation accessible only with a guide from Slot Canyon Hummer Tours in Page, Arizona who will drive you across a forbidding off-road trail of sand and slickrock. Unlike Antelope Canyon, which can receive hundreds of visitors a day, Secret Canyon offers an experience of solitude and wonder...Navajo Sandstone formed from the petrified sand dunes of a large Jurassic desert similar to the Sahara Desert of today that often become the richest canvas for the flash floods to carve their masterpieces through.

  • Carved through iron rich Navajo Sandstone, Antelope Canyon is one the many slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau sculpted by flash floods during the monsoon season of late summer. Though these slot canyons are carved into many different geologic layers of sandstone and limestone, it is the Navajo Sandstone, formed from the petrified sand dunes of a large Jurassic desert similar to the Sahara Desert of today, that often become the richest canvas for the flash floods to carve their masterpieces through...Upper Antelope Canyon is one of the largest attractions for traveling through the Glen Canyon area, especially during mid-day when the summer light of the afternoon streams straight down into the canyon through the narrow opening at the top of the canyon that act like a lens, which focuses beams of etherial light into the cavern below.

  • Antelope Canyon, near Page, Arizona and Glen Canyon NRA, is actually two canyons: the more famous Upper Antelope Canyon, which is a short, wide slot canyon carved into a rise of Navajo Sandstone by a wash that ultimately runs into the Colorado River/Lake Powell. The Lower Antelope Canyon is a little further downstream and carves down into the Navajo Sandstone rim that lines Glen Canyon. This canyon is deeper and narrower and produces a wide variety of interesting formations like this swirling sandstone that ends in an overhanging edge.

  • Antelope Canyon, near Page, Arizona and Glen Canyon NRA, is actually two canyons: the more famous Upper Antelope Canyon, which is a short, wide slot canyon carved into a rise of Navajo Sandstone by a wash that ultimately runs into the Colorado River/Lake Powell. The Lower Antelope Canyon is a little further downstream and carves down into the Navajo Sandstone rim that lines Glen Canyon. This canyon is deeper and narrower and produces a wide variety of interesting formations like this small arch that dissects the canyon. Perspective is difficult in this narrow canyon and it is hard to tell from the photo if this arch is a foot tall or 20 feet tall; in fact it is about ten feet tall and has plenty of room for a hiker in the canyon to walk below it.

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