Slowly but surely, she said, the canyon would become wider. In 2022, for instance, she said there were 11 flash floods in the canyon, which formed a new hole in the wall and also eroded about 4 inches in some areas. The guide also talked about flash floods that have occurred in the past, as well as the changes that have occurred in the canyon from the rushing water. The formation of the canyon was just one of the fascinating stories that my group learned along the tour. Both tour operates have several 1 - 1.5 hour tours every day and are almost exactly the same price. “Everything is made out of water and sand,” the guide told us, adding that wind erosion had also formed some of the rock formations in the upper part of the canyon and that the silky smooth appearance deep inside indicated that the formations were formed by water erosion. At the time of writing (November 2022), there are two tour companies that operate in Lower Antelope Canyon - Ken’s and Dixie Ellis. As the water started to dissipate or evaporate, sand dunes were formed, later going through a process of compression, and ultimately forming into the beautiful layers that exist in the Lower Antelope Canyon today. The Stories Are FascinatingĪs we started our tour, our guide told us that over 500 million years ago, the entire region around Antelope Canyon was underwater. Sandstone erosionPhoto credit: Cindy Barks 6.
