Spear of Light at the Antelope Slot Canyon
This is the first time I have heard of such a thing as a slot canyon. As the name implies, the slot canyon is no different from the normal canyons we are familiar with, except that this one is narrow. It is just wide enough to allow people to pass through. Like their bigger versions, the slot canyons are formed by millions of years of water carving out channels and eventually slot canyons. The process is still ongoing. Our tour guide through the Antelope Slot Canyon would tell stories of how back then tour groups weren’t required to visit the Antelope Slot Canyon and there was a thunderstorm somewhere far away. Eventually, the water found it’s way through the slot canyon and because the slot canyon is narrow compared to the volume of the water, it quickly filled up.
Twisting Walls of the Antelope Slot Canyon
As you can imagine, whatever tourists were there at the time lost their lives and then it was decided that group tours will be required to visit the slot canyons to avoid a repeat of that incident. The hope is that the tour guides will be more informed of the local conditions and should be able to make the call on whether to push through with the trip or not. We visited the Antelope Slot Canyon close to noon time and I thought it was the perfect time to be there. While outside the canyon, the sun was directly overhead, inside the canyon, there is shade. However, keep in mind that this is not a tunnel. This is a canyon, and overhead there are openings which allow some sunlight in.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/AntelopeSlotCanyon.kmz} zoom=19]