Showing posts with label arizona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arizona. Show all posts

Friday, December 12, 2008

(13) Glen Canyon and Antelope Canyon, Arizona

From Zion Np we took route 89 down to Page, which is situated in a beautiful area in northern Arizona, on the shore of Lake Powell. The lake was named after Civil War veteran John Powell, a one-armed adventurer, who explored the Colorado River here in 1869. Lake Powell is the second biggest man-made water reservoir in America.
Below is a picture of the canyon that the Colorado River has created. What I found striking was the contrast between the green color of the water and the reddish colors of the rocks:
Glen Canyon is the effect of the River's activity. Note especially how arid the area appears:
Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam, which was constructed in the 1960s to generate electricity in the nearby power-plant, which supplies energy to Arizona, Nevada and California. As if by the way, Lake Powell has become a popular tourist destination. (S):
South of lake Powell and Glen Canyon is Navajo Indian Reservation, which prides itself on fabulous natural formations. One of those amazing places is Antelope Canyon. The picture below was taken on the way to Upper Antelope Canyon, which is one of the most frequently photographed wonders of the American West. (S)
Antelope Canyon is carved in limestone and sandstone rock - geological material typical of the Colorado Plateau.
If you want to visit Antelope Canyon, you have to buy a rather expensive ticket (don't worry, you later conclude that you get good value for your money;) and wait for a truck and a guide who will lead you into the twisting corridors of the Canyon. Our guide, Vernon, is standing at the entrance:

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon, which has been created by water rushing through the rock (the Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is "the place where water runs through rocks"). It can be as deep as 30 meters and so narrow that one can stretch the arms and touch both walls of the canyon. (S)




Elder Navajo people pause before entering the Canyon to be in the right frame of mind - it does feel like entering a sanctuary. (S):

It is dangerous to enter the Canyon without listening to the weather forecast and making sure that no rainfall is expected on the day of the trip. Antelope Canyon is still reshaped by flush floods: rapid currents of water flushing through its corridors, filling them to the brim, one might say, and carrying sediment which sculpts the walls. Because rainwater cannot soak into the ground (there are rocks all around), it looks for channels to flow to the lower situated areas. A flush flood lasts a few hours: if it happens in the morning, it is still possible to visit the Canyon in the afternoon. (S)
Entering Antelope Canyon is also a spiritual experience: getting inside this natural cathedral makes you ponder on the creative power of Mother Nature and stand in awe and admiration of something so much greater than yourself. (S):
The changing light in the slot canyon creates wonderful shapes - it's enough to free your imagination and then you can see the most bizarre patterns (or an almost realistic portrait of President Lincoln, for that matter;). Click on this one (S):

Monday, December 8, 2008

(12) Zion NP, Utah

From Las Vegas we traveled to Zion NP through Hurricane and Rockville - beautifully situated picturesque little towns, in which even the roads are red.
The most characteristic shape in Zion, which is practically a desert, is "mesa" - a Spanish word used for steep cliffs with a flat top like a table. Mesa is the most typical landform in the whole of the US Southwest.

Zion became a National Park in 1919, which means that it is the oldest park in Utah. The Park covers the area of about 600 km2. The picture below was taken in the town of Springdale, which is the south-western gateway to Zion:

Water plays the most important role in the creation of Zion's landscape, the major river being the Virgin, which has created steep cliffs and a canyon. It is along the River's North Fork that we took a scenic drive.
Apart from the shapes, the range of the red colors was for me the most spectacular feature of Zion's cliffs. I'm quoting from my diary: "a divine palette of reds";)














Situated in the western part of the Colorado Plateau, Zion NP is built of reddish Navajo Sandstone, which, being very soft, yields to the water flowing down the cliffs like clay to a sculptor's hands:

In Hebrew "Zion" means a "sanctuary" or a "place of refuge". The person who named the area Zion was a Mormon leader who found refuge from persecution in this place in 1863. He echoed the Bible as follows: "The Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord." I find this a very accurate description;) (S)
A glimpse at a marvelous hill whose shape invites you to take a short walk (I did;) (S):
We are out of the 2-km-long Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel, where I could not take pictures for obvious reasons;) (S):
The view on the left is very typical of the Colorado Plateau and promises even more spectacular vistas - to come next in Glen Canyon and Antelope Canyon, Arizona.