Upper Antelope Canyon Click on image to see more photos |
Antelope Canyon Navajo Nation Park
Casual tourists often overlook Antelope Canyon Navajo Nation Park because it is not a national or state park. However, Antelope Canyon is instantly recognizable as one of the most-photographed slot canyons in the American Southwest. Its narrow passages, intricately carved sandstone, gently undulating curves and hollows varying from 3 to 9 feet (1 to 3 meters) wide, and occasional shafts of radiating sunlight piercing through the soft colors and shadows are unsurpassed in breathtaking tranquility.
Antelope Canyon is composed of two separate canyons. In Navajo, the canyon names are Tse' bighanilini, meaning "the place where water runs through rocks," and Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches." Its English name comes from the herds of wild pronghorn antelope which used to roam freely throughout the area.
Antelope Canyon was primarily eroded through the soft Navajo Sandstone by countless flash floods. During the monsoon season, rainwater runs into the extensive basin 7 miles upstream from Antelope Canyon and then funnels into its narrow passages, deepening and smoothing the already flowing rock walls. Rain falling even dozens of miles from the canyon can funnel into them with very little prior notice, making a trained guide a requirement for all visitors. Antelope Canyon’s safety systems have been heightened and flood-proofed since 1997, when eleven tourists were killed in the Lower Canyon by a sudden flash flood that swept away the wooden ladders. Today’s ladder systems are bolted into the rock face, and deployable cargo nets are ready at all times.