The Magnificence Of The Arizona Canyons

Over the past few months I’ve had the privilege of traveling to Nevada and Arizona several times. Mostly I took full advantage of these travels and visited several of the most amazing canyons. These magnificent wonders of nature are truly a great source of inspiration. The sites have always either been flooded with or starved for the main force of life, water, which combined makes for some really interesting surfaces in the earth’s landscapes. I’ve been lucky enough to have visited Grand Canyon West, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Canyon, all having their own distinct features.

My most recent experience was with a magnificent site called the Lower Antelope Canyon or “Spiral Rock Arches”, translated from the Navajo language which gives a pretty accurate description of the phenomenon. Over many thousands of years water and wind have slowly been carving out the sandstone to create a mind blowing system of swirling cliffs, undulating passages and beautifully shaped rocks. Anyone that pays attention or listens to the native American tour guide’s explanations can discover the face of an Indian chief, the “Lady In The Wind” and other shapes that indeed seem to resemble animals and faces. (You can only enter the Lower Antelope Canyon with a tour guide, booking a tour is mandatory.)

“The views in Lower Antelope Canyon change constantly as the sun moves across the sky, filtering lights softly across the stone walls. These ever-moving sun angles bounce light back and forth across the narrow canyon’s walls, creating a dazzling display of colour, light, and shadow.” (Find more on the tour here) 

Only a few steps away from the canyon entrance you can spot some actual dinosaur footprints, another sign of the long history of this stunning place.

There is something really humbling about walking through this ancient canyon with its walls towering over you with the clear blue sky peeking through at some places and the sun highlighting particles of dust. Add the native American feeling of great respect for nature and its forces and it’s quite impossible to not be impressed by the grandness of this place and to be reminded of what tiny spec we actually are in the bigger picture of this earth, the universe beyond and the history of time.