DOTTED GLOBE
When driving from Antelope Canyon, you will be entering Grand Canyon National Park through the Eastern Desert View Drive entrance. Here is everything you need to know on upper Antelope Canyon in comparison with lower Antelope Canyon.
The area where the canyons exist was covered in sand dunes in prehistoric times. Over time, the sand dunes were compressed and metamorphosed into red sandstone rock.
During thunderstorms, the mesa upstream of the canyons flooded and the runoff water rushed through the porous sandstone rock carving unique passageways of the Antelope Canyons.
The water created whirlpools and funneled down the opening in the ground, leaving patterns and flowing curves on the canyon walls.
Both the Antelope Canyons are so extraordinarily beautiful that they are often called the Eighth Wonder of the World. The water rushing through the red sandstone has created undulating, smooth curves and vivid textures inside the canyon that leaves all who visit it speechless.
The original Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní which translates to ‘the place where water runs through rocks. Another name for the Upper Canyon is ‘the Crack’.
The Navajo name for the Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazí which means ‘spiral rock arches’. The lower canyon is also popularly known as ‘the Corkscrew’.
Geologically, both the Antelope Canyons are the exact same type of slot canyons. The natural differences are only in their sizes: lower canyon is longer and narrower than the upper canyon. They both are at an elevation of 4000 feet.
The best time to visit Antelope Canyons to see the light beam is in the summer months around noon. While the light shafts can be seen in both the canyons, they are more frequent in the upper canyon because of its upside-down V shape.