Page 72 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

STORM DRAIN

ANTELOPE CANYON

Deserts are created by drought—long periods when
there is so little rain that most plants cannot grow.
But even deserts are occasionally hit by rainstorms.
As there are so few plants to soak it up, the water surges
over the bare ground in flash floods. Loaded with sand
and rocks, these torrents gouge deep channels in the
terrain as they cascade downhill. Antelope Canyon in
the American Southwest is one of the most spectacular
of these slot canyons—a narrow gash in the desert
sandstone, carved into sinuous shapes by the raging
floodwater. But for most of the year the canyon
is bone dry, with no hint of the forces that created it.

AT A GLANCE
• LOCATION Northern Arizona
• TYPE Slot canyon

• FORMATION Eroded by flash floods
• AGE The sandstone of the canyon
is more than 180 million years old

STATS AND FACTS
MORE THAN
FORMIDABLE FORMATIONS
1,300 WATER SURGE RAINFALL
FEET
(400 M) A desert storm The land around
can flood the
the canyon
canyon in just receives as little
LENGTH a few minutes. as 2 in (5 cm) of
rain per year.
Antelope Canyon
is carved into rock TEMPERATURE
Temperatures in the canyon can
that was once a rise up to 100°F (38°C) in summer.
desert sand dune.
°C 10 20 30 40
DEPTH
°F 50 75 100
ABOUT
120
FEET
(37 M)
70

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