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• Verde Canyon Az
• Slot Canyons Near Mesa Verde San Diego
• Slot Canyons Near Mesa Verde Ca
• Slot Canyons Near Mesa Verde California
• Mesa Verde Trail Map

A slot canyon is a long, narrow, deep and tortuous channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock. A slot canyon has depth-to-width ratios that typically exceed 10:1 over most of its length and can approach 100:1. The term is especially used in the semiarid western United States, including the Colorado Plateau region. Slot canyons are subject to flash flooding and commonly contain unique ecological communities that are distinct from the adjacent, drier uplands.^[1] Some slot canyons can measure less than 1 metre (3 ft) across at the top but drop more than 30 metres (100 ft) to the floor of the canyon.

8 Amazing Slot Canyons to Explore Antelope Canyon. Arguably the most beautiful slot canyon on this list, this is also the most popular. Located on Navajo lands, this slot canyon can only be visited on a tour. Two different slot canyons make up Antelope Canyon and both offer very different experiences. Mesa Verde National Park is just the beginning. Other world treasures are nearby. Ute Mountain Tribal Park is a unique way to experience a Native American interpretation of their ancestral homeland. At Canyons of the Ancients National Monument you can hike or mountain bike to ancient sites. There is only one entrance to Mesa Verde National Park - along US 160, 10 miles east of Cortez and 36 miles west of Durango. The two main groups of ancient sites are on Chapin Mesa and Wetherill Mesa. PDF format map of Mesa Verde National Park, from the National Park Service (736 kb).

Many slot canyons are formed in sandstone and limestone rock, although slot canyons in other rock types such as granite and basalt are possible. Even in sandstone and limestone, only a very small number of streams will form slot canyons due to a combination of the particular characteristics of the rock and regional rainfall.

• 1Slot canyons around the world

Slot canyons around the world[edit]

Slot canyons are found in many parts of the world, predominantly in areas with low rainfall. Some of the best-known slot canyons are to be found in the Southwestern United States. Other significant areas include the Sierra de Guara in northern Spain, the Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain, and the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia.

Australia[edit]

The largest known area of slot canyons in Australia is in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. They occur in a narrow band of sandstone that runs roughly 30 kilometres (19 mi) from east to west, and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from south to north. The majority of these canyons are in the Wollemi Wilderness, and are difficult to access. A small number are regularly visited by canyoners on weekends in summer. The Grand Canyon, near Blackheath, has a tourist track along its rim, but requires abseiling (rappelling) or swimming to visit fully.

Sandstone slot canyons can also be found in a few more remote parts of Australia, including Karijini National Park and the Bungle Bungles in Purnululu National Park, both in Western Australia, and Carnarvon Gorge in Queensland.

United States[edit]

Southern Utah has the densest population of slot canyons in the world with over one thousand slot canyons in the desert lands south of Interstate 70.^[2] Utah's slot canyons are found in Zion National Park at The Narrows, along Canyonlands National Park's Joint Trail, throughout Capitol Reef National Park, within the San Rafael Swell and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, especially along the Escalante River drainage including Coyote Gulch. Many more slot canyons are located on public Bureau of Land Management and state-owned lands in southern Utah, in areas surrounding the aforementioned parks and monuments. Buckskin Gulch—one of the longest slot canyons in the world—begins in southern Utah and continues into northern Arizona within the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. Northern Arizona also has a high concentration of slot canyons including Antelope Canyon and Secret Canyon, which are two of the most famous slot canyons located near Page on land owned by the Navajo Nation. Slot canyons are also located in the valley between U.S. Route 89 and the Vermilion Cliffs in Arizona, and can be seen as one descends into the valley on U.S. 89, but these are on the Navajo reservation and are closed to the public. The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument's slot canyon trail in New Mexico is unique as it was carved into tuff (volcanic ash). In California, several slot canyons are located within Death Valley National Park.

Drowning danger[edit]

Local as well as distant storms can cause dangerous flash flooding in slot canyons, and hikers should not enter them if there is any sign of rain in the surrounding area.^[3] In many slot canyons, it can be miles before a safe exit or rescue is possible.

On August 12, 1997, eleven tourists, including seven from France, one from the United Kingdom, one from Sweden and two from the United States, were killed in Lower Antelope Canyon by a flash flood.^[4][5] Very little rain fell at the site that day, but an earlier thunderstorm had dumped a large amount of water into the canyon basin, seven miles upstream. The lone survivor of the flood was tour guide Francisco 'Poncho' Quintana, who had prior swift-water training. At the time, the ladder system consisted of amateur-built wood ladders that were swept away by the flash flood. Today, ladder systems have been bolted in place, and deployable cargo nets are installed at the top of the canyon. A NOAA Weather Radio from the National Weather Service and an alarm horn are stationed at the fee booth.^[6]

Gallery[edit]

• The Siq and Al-Khazneh (the Treasury), Petra, Jordan

• Taminaschlucht, Tamina River, Switzerland

• The Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah

• Kasha-Katuwe, New Mexico

• The Great Channels, Virginia

References[edit]

1. ^ This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of Agriculture document: 'Soil Survey of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Area, Parts of Kane and Garfield Counties, Utah'(PDF). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. p. 305. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
2. ^Zion slot canyons
3. ^'Safety Tips'. blm.gov. Bureau of Land Management. 2016-03-24. Archived from the original on 2016-09-30. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
4. ^'Flash Flood Antelope Canyon'. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
5. ^'Antelope Canyon'. Archived from the original on 17 March 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
6. ^Kramer, Kelly (2008). 'Man vs. Wild'. Arizona Highways. 84 (11): 23.

External links[edit]

Media related to Slot canyons at Wikimedia Commons

Verde Canyon Az

×Mesa Verde is the only American national park that protects man-made structures, as opposed to natural features. In hilly, inaccessible country south of Cortez, there are over 4,000 historic ruins, many of them large structures built under steep, overhanging cliffs in narrow canyons. This is the most famous and highly visited archaeological site in the US, due to the number, the size and the excellent state of preservation of the buildings, together with their scenic location. The park is fully open for only seven months of the year (April to October) owing to the large amount of winter snowfall received by this high elevation location - the access road runs along a ridge at over 8,000 feet. Mesa Verde is close to Four Corners, the only point where four states meet, and the center of former Indian civilisations - many other important sites are preserved nearby including Aztec Ruins, Canyon de Chelly, Chaco and Hovenweep. Today, most of the region is still within Indian reservations; the Ute in Colorado and the Navajo in AZ, NM and UT.

Background

Generally, the land of extreme southwest Colorado is high desert with arid mesas and wide empty valleys, but it becomes more mountainous to the northeast, as the foothills of the San Juan Mountains approach. The hills of Mesa Verde are shaped like a comb, linked by a high ridge (the North Rim) running approximately east-west and many long thin, wooded mesas extending southwards. These have almost flat tops but are separated by narrow, often sheer-walled canyons up to 1,000 feet deep, and it was in these well-protected ravines that the Anasazi Indians built their settlements, between 550 and 1250 AD, although most of the large buildings were constructed near the end of this period. As with many other ancient cultures of the Southwest, the Mesa Verde area was abandoned quite suddenly, around 1300 AD and it was not until the late 19th century that their settlements were rediscovered.

Approach

Mesa Verde National Park is approached from busy highway US 160, which runs along Montezuma Valley between Cortez and Mancos (see map). There are a few businesses including RV sites and Indian souvenir shops around the entrance, but most facilities are in the two towns, 10 and 8 miles away respectively. A steep climb begins just inside the park gate, as the road winds up a rocky ridge, reducing traffic to 15 mph in some places, and including one section right beneath a near-vertical cliff, a location prone to avalanches in winter and rockfalls all year. A pull-out on the east side gives fine views over Mancos Valley and the snow-covered La Plata Mountains, before the road passes through a gap in the ridge and onto the flat floor of Morfield Valley, site of the park's campground (open mid May to mid October). The highway crosses to the adjacent valley (Prater Canyon) via a tunnel before ascending again, steeply up to the top of North Rim, the wooded escarpment forming the south edge of Montezuma Valley. Several roadside stops allow for viewing the lands far below, and three have short trails to other viewpoints, including at Geologic Overlook and Montezuma Valley Overlook. On a clear day the views southwards extend to Shiprock Peak in New Mexico, 50 miles away.

Fires

Another short trail along the entrance road leads to Park Point, at 8,571 feet the highest peak in the area. Nearby stands a watch tower with uninterrupted 360 degree views, and visitors can enter to learn about the work of the fire prevention service. From here, the first signs of the great fire of August 1996 were observed - for five days, a large destructive blaze raged through the bushes and pine trees covering the hills and canyons in the north central section of Mesa Verde. The fire followed an extended spell of hot, dry weather and was started by lightning; when it was finally extinguished nearly 5,000 acres had burned, and the park had to be evacuated and closed for a week. The fire jumped across the main park road several times and spread to within a few feet of the visitor center buildings, but despite the short-term destruction, no lasting damage was done. Many other serious fires have occurred in the last hundred years, recent events being in 2000 (twice), 2002 and 2003, but the vegetation always recovers. One side effect of such fires is the revelation of previously unknown archaeological sites.

Scenic Drives

The park drive eventually reaches Far View, a cluster of buildings that includes the visitor center and a restaurant. From here, a side road (open only during summer) continues further west across steep terrain for 12 miles towards the Wetherill Mesa group of ruins, most famous of which are Long House and Step House, both large structures which may be reached by short trails. However, by far the most visited section of the park is Chapin Mesa, ten miles south of Far View along the main approach route (the Ruins Road) - here are dozens of easily accessible cliff dwellings, ruins and other historic features, although the majority of the thousands of archaeological sites in the park, many still unexcavated, are more remote. Three one-way loop systems help ease traffic congestion on the narrow roads between the various groups of ruins. There are also foot trails, but hiking is limited to recognised routes and most ruins are not open to the public, to help prevent damage to the fragile sandstone structures and the theft of artefacts. Some trails require tickets to be purchased, to control the numbers of visitors, and watchful park rangers are present at all the major ruins during opening hours. Guided tours are available through some of the largest clusters of buildings; these often require visitors to ascend ladders and crawl through small openings.

Major Sites

The largest cluster of buildings, with 150 rooms in total, is Cliff Palace - this has many towers, houses and circular kivas (ceremonial gathering places), is also reached by a short trail (including a ladder) and is easily explored. The palace is best viewed from a different road at the opposite side of the canyon. Spruce Tree House, one of the best-preserved cliff house complexes, is visible from the road near the park museum. The structure originally had 114 separate rooms and is built in a large overhanging cave-like recess in the canyon wall. A short but quite steep foot trail descends into Spruce Tree Canyon to view the ruins; however, the site is currently closed to the public 'for the foreseeable future' following a 2015 rock fall, and concerns over the stability of parts of the overhanging walls. A longer path (the 2.4 mile Petroglyph Point Trail) continues past, and along the canyon, giving a good appreciation of the landscape - it passes colorful rock formations and several small ruins as well as the petroglyphs. The trail returns along the rim above the canyon with good views of distant lands to the west. The third large ruin in the Chapin Mesa area is Balcony House, visible further along the Cliff Palace loop road.
Sites on Chapin Mesa
Sites on Wetherill Mesa

Mesa Verde Hotels

Holiday Inn Express Mesa Verde-Cortez

One of the closest hotels to Mesa Verde National Park is Holiday Inn Express Mesa Verde-Cortez, 9 miles west of the park entrance on US 160, near the junction with CO 145. The hotel is 1.5 miles east of the center of Cortez and 5 miles from the municipal airport, and makes a good base for exploring all the Four Corners area, being also close to Hovenweep National Monument, the San Juan Mountains and Aztec Ruins National Monument.
Check rates for the Holiday Inn Express Mesa Verde-Cortez
All hotels in Cortez - descriptions, reservations, location map
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Map of Mesa Verde National Park

Slot Canyons Near Mesa Verde San Diego

Hiking - descriptions of all trails

Slot Canyons Near Mesa Verde Ca

Slot Canyons Near Mesa Verde California

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