Fortknocker
Utah
2005
Utah
2005
CS66006401
The slot canyons of the American Southwest are some of the most fascinating features of the high-desert landscape. Hidden from sight, these
unique streamways carve narrow and graceful sinuous incisions into rock formations such as the Cedar Mesa Sandstone and the distinctively red
Navajo Sandstone. At times these canyons are more than 100 feet deep, while being too narrow to even enter! I've traveled in areas for years
without knowing of some of these rugged passages existing just a mile or two away.
On hot summer days slot canyons are wonderful places to escape to, places to avoid the harsh heat of the day. But when the summer monsoons
come, these places of shelter can become places of extreme danger. Flash floods pour millions of gallons of water through these narrow
canyons, quickly flooding them and threatening any visitor who is not close to an escape route - refuge on a high bench or a pathway out of the
canyon. Remnants of these floods, in the form of large woody debris lodged tens of feet from the canyon floors, are reminders of how deep and
how fast moving these floods can be.
This photo was taken near the upper limit of the slots in Fortknocker Canyon, just upstream of Fluvial Delusion. The intriguing colors and complex
texture, combined with the wonderful warm glow of light being reflected onto the rock surfaces peeking around the bend, make this a relatively
traditional yet interesting slot canyon photograph.
unique streamways carve narrow and graceful sinuous incisions into rock formations such as the Cedar Mesa Sandstone and the distinctively red
Navajo Sandstone. At times these canyons are more than 100 feet deep, while being too narrow to even enter! I've traveled in areas for years
without knowing of some of these rugged passages existing just a mile or two away.
On hot summer days slot canyons are wonderful places to escape to, places to avoid the harsh heat of the day. But when the summer monsoons
come, these places of shelter can become places of extreme danger. Flash floods pour millions of gallons of water through these narrow
canyons, quickly flooding them and threatening any visitor who is not close to an escape route - refuge on a high bench or a pathway out of the
canyon. Remnants of these floods, in the form of large woody debris lodged tens of feet from the canyon floors, are reminders of how deep and
how fast moving these floods can be.
This photo was taken near the upper limit of the slots in Fortknocker Canyon, just upstream of Fluvial Delusion. The intriguing colors and complex
texture, combined with the wonderful warm glow of light being reflected onto the rock surfaces peeking around the bend, make this a relatively
traditional yet interesting slot canyon photograph.
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