| Escalante Canyons, Utah. This very short and narrow slot canyon is tucked away off a wide- sandy wash several miles from the nearest road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. A small intermittent stream cut through this vividly-striped layer of Navajo sandstone to produce these marvelous, sensual forms. Many small and intimate gems such as this are scattered throughout the 1.9 million acres of Grand Staircase-Escalante. Back in the 1930s, a truly vast monument, including these canyons, was proposed by the director of the Interior Department and would have extended the entire length of the Colorado River from the Arizona border to Moab. This plan was met with tremendous local opposition and finally buried by the onset of WW II. Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument was created by President Clinton in 1996 amid vociferous local opposition. Efforts to reduce its size continue today. All photos in these galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage. |
