Escalante Canyons, Grand Staircase Escalante Nat’l Mon, Utah

Eons of flowing water have carved the Navajo sandstone of this slot canyon into beautiful undulating waves. Light reflecting off the canyon wall just out of view on the right serves to accentuate these sensual forms. The effect of this reflected light changes quickly as the sun moves across the sky, providing a different scene throughout the day and throughout the year as the sun changes its position above the horizon. The Navajo Sandstone which forms the walls of this short canyon began as a sea of drifting sand dunes which covered a huge expanse of this region 190 million years ago. Many small and intimate gems such as this are scattered throughout the 1.9 million acres of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.