Antelope Canyon in USA, Arizona

 USA - Arizona  Comments Off
Mar 052013
 

Introduction :
The Antelope Canyon is located on the Navajo land near the city of Page in Arizona state of USA. It is a slot canyon known to be an incredible popular photogenic spot for professional photography and is the most visited and photographed slot canyon in Amercian Southwest. The canyon is divided into the Upper and Lower part and the visiting of the Antelope Canyon has to be strictly guided by the local tours as rains can flood the canyon quickly during the monsoon season and cause dangers to the visitors touring the canyon.

View of the canon surroundings from above
View of the canon surroundings from above

Upper part of the Antelope Canyon
Upper part of the Antelope Canyon
Image attribution to Moondigger @ Wiki

Tourists around the canyon
Tourists around the canyon
Image attribution to porschista @ Flickr

History :
The name Antelope Canyon was originated from herds of pronghorn antelopes roaming around the canyon above long ago and the formation of the canyon was due to erosion of the Navajo Sandstone and other factors.

Sunlight shining into the canyon
Sunlight shining into the canyon

Looking up from the lower canyon
Looking up from the lower canyon
Image attribution to Moondigger @ Wiki

Getting there :
The nearest airport to the Antelope Canyon is the Page Municipal Airport which is only a few minutes drive from the canyon serving daily flights from Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas international airports.

Grand Canyon in USA, Arizona

 USA - Arizona  Comments Off
Jan 302013
 

Introduction :
The Grand Canyon sits in the USA state of Arizona and is currently managed by the Grand Canyon National Park and two of the native American Indian tribes namely the Hualapai Tribal Nation and the Havasupai Tribe. The canyon measures 446km in length and has a depth over 1800 metres and is one of the largest canyons in the world. The is the result of 2 billion years in the geological history of Earth as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layers of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. Today, it is considered as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The formation of the Canyon ranges from 17-70 million years ago.

Aerial view of the Grand Canyon
Aerial view of the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon National Park

Really scenic view of the Canyon
Really scenic view of the Canyon

History : The Pueblo people of a native Amercian culture were the first to settle in the Grand Canyon that dates back to more than 10,000 years ago. In 1540, the Spanish soldiers explored into the area but there was little interest in the Canyon until the late 19th century where mining began to take place. The first settlements along the rim of the Canyon came during the 1880s. It soon became more well known as a tourist attraction that became more profitable than mining.

Hotel built at the southern rim of the Canyon
Hotel built at the southern rim of the Canyon

Spectacular view at the Southern Rim
Spectacular view at the Southern Rim

Trees at the Grand Canyon
Trees at the Grand Canyon

Getting there :
The nearest international airport to the Grand Canyon is the Sky Habor International Airport (PHX) and is 375km from the Grand Canyon. This can be followed by a 5 hour drive or a transit to Flagstaff Pulliam Airport(FLG) which is 130km from the sountern rim of the Canyon.