How water and wind formed Antelope Canyon

Marvel at the stunning Upper Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. This slot canyon is located on Navajo Land and is famous for its exceptional sandstone colors and shapes shortly before the sun falls into the canyon.
The Upper Antelope Canyon resplendently shines in the frenzy of shapes and colors as the indirect, reflected light changes from the purple of the deep shade to the golden yellow of the sunlit walls. The canyon walls at the upper opening are sometimes several meters wide apart (about 10 ft). At the bottom the canyon, which is up to 20 m (66 ft) deep, is often only 50 cm (1.6 ft) wide. Since the direct sunlight floods the canyon at noon, the real colors of Antelope Canyon appear at lower sun elevations.
Both Antelope Slot Canyons drain into nearby Lake Powell, which in turn flows into the Colorado River and further on into the Grand Canyon. The extremely smooth polished walls are created by the fine sand that is constantly blown by the wind through the canyon. On the plateau of the Navajo sandstone, both Antelope canyons in Arizona can only be recognized by narrow slits in the rock. The summer flash floods of Antelope Creek took millions of years to create this hidden sandstone wonder. On the rough surface of the plateau, the run-off water could attack weak points in the rock particularly well. Over time, the cracks expanded into a contiguous canyon. The admiration of the almost incomprehensible beauty of Antelope blends with the imagination of sudden flash floods and creates this particularly intense experience of nature.
Upper Antelope Canyon is located at an altitude of 1129 m (3704 ft) and is about 200 m (660 ft) long and 37 m (120 ft) deep. Both Antelope slot canyons drain into Lake Powell flowing into the Colorado River that formed the Grand Canyon. The wind erosion is constantly wearing down these extremely polished walls.
The sensual colors and shapes of Upper Antelope Canyon together with the hair-like tumbleweed create a very intimate atmosphere.