Antelope Canyon – most-visited slot canyon in American southwest
Baku, November 3, AZERTAC
Antelope Canyon is more than the most-visited slot canyon in the American southwest - it also offers travelers a rich history and exciting structure that few natural wonders can claim.
The canyon has a wave-like structure that gives it a unique look and, along with the canyon’s glorious light beams, makes Antelope the most-photographed slot canyon in the southwestern United States.
Antelope Canyon gets its name from local Navajo stories regarding antelopes that grazed along the canyon in the wintertime.
The walls of the canyon rise 120 feet above the streambed.
Antelope Canyon is referred to as one canyon, but is actually made up of two separate slot canyons: Upper Antelope, or The Crack, and Lower Antelope, or The Corkscrew. Both are breathtakingly beautiful and have their own unique geographical features, with the upper region providing tourists with the canyon’s famous light beams.
The canyon’s unique geography was created by water that rushed over its walls over many, many years.
The canyon is located in the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation, near Page, Arizona.
A Guided tour is required to enter the canyon, a sacred monument of the Navajo people - it has been accessible by permit only since 1997 when it became a Navajo Tribal Park.
The entire length of the canyon’s entrance is at ground level, meaning visitors do not need to worry about any climbing.
The Upper Canyon is called “Tse’ bighanilini” by the Navajo people. This translates to “the place where water runs through rocks” in English.
Upper Antelope is at around 4,000 feet elevation.