Slot Canyon Nsw
Eventually scrambled past a large boulder only to discover the ground had given way, with a deep, dark, winding slot carved through the sandstone in front of us. There was a little bit of pfaffing about as we ensured a good pull down, then it was into the unknown. This canyon isn’t very long, but it is incredibly impressive.
Bungonia Gorge – of which Slot Canyon is the centrepiece – presents like an early European landscape drawing in which the natural features are revealed in exaggeration. From a lookout above, the “slot” disappears into black. To the west, the Devils Staircase rock formation staggers its way up to – or down from – the heavens. A slot canyon is a narrow canyon that is formed from water rushing through rock. What starts off as a tiny crack steadily grows larger from repeat flash floods and erosion over millions of years. The end result is a narrow canyon with very high walls. Slot canyons can be several meters wide or just one foot wide. Bungonia The sandstone slot canyons near Sydney are all found in the Greater Blue Mountains area. They lie in the northern half of the Blue Mountains National Park, in Wollemi NP, with some in the Gardens of Stone NP and in nearby State Forest or Crown Land. They can be found in a narrow band running north-south, on the western side of the ranges. The Blue Mountains has over 900 amazing slot canyons. Our canyons are deep and narrow, carved over millions of years by rivers cutting through the sandstone plateau. High and Wild canyoning adventures involve swimming, jumping into pristine pools of water, abseiling through waterfalls and stunning bushwalks.
Just a few hours’ drive west of Sydney, Australia’s rugged Blue Mountain region is home to hundreds of canyons – deep fissures created by the erosive effects of water rushing through sandstone. The Blue Mountain region is a an ancient sedimentary plateau deeply incised by river erosion and densely carpeted in eucalyptus. They occur in a narrow band of sandstone that runs roughly 30 km (19 mi) from east to west, and about 100 km (62 mi) from south to north. The majority of these canyons are in the Wollemi Wilderness, and are difficult to access
Canyons are like grooves formed in the Earth from water erosion. The most famous of the world's canyons is the Grand Canyon in Arizona. This is an example of a slot canyon after millions of years of being worn down by the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon is not the only awe-inspiring canyon on Earth. The Colca Canyon in Peru is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon though less steep. Antelope Canyon in Arizona is the most photographed sandstone canyon in the world.Bound by cliffs and cut by erosion, canyons are deep, narrow valleys in the Earth's crust that evoke superlatives and a sense of wonder. Layers of rock outline stories of regional geology like the table of contents to a scientific text.
The landforms commonly break parched terrain where rivers are the major force to sculpt the land. They are also found on ocean floors where the torrents of currents dig underwater graves. When glaciers co-opted the former river beds, they widened and smoothed out most of our canyons, leaving wide u-shaped valleys. With the retreat of the ice, the rivers had to begin anew. Essentially, the larger the difference in height between the river and its its outlet, the more energy the river will expend in the process of erosion. Much of this energy will be expended towards increasing the efficiency of the drainage system, and facilitating a speedy drop in elevation.
The Canyons of the Blue Mountains in NSW are :________________________________________________________________________________________'Grand' is the word used to describe one of the most famous canyons of all. Cut by the Colorado River over the last few million years, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 kilometers) long, more than 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) deep, but only 18 miles (29 kilometers) across at its widest yawn.
Layers of rock in the Grand Canyon tell much about the Colorado Plateau's formative years: a mountain range built with two-billion-year-old rock and then eroded away; sediments deposited from an ancient sea; more mountains; more erosion; another sea; a burst of volcanic activity; and the birth of a river that has since carved the chasm by washing the layers away.
Each layer erodes differently. Some crumble into slopes, others sheer cliffs. They stack together like a drunken staircase that leads to the river's edge. A mixture of minerals gives each layer a distinctive hue of yellow, green, or red.
Canyon Types
Box Canyons
Other canyons start where a spring sprouts from the base of a cliff as if out of nowhere. Such cliffs are composed of permeable, or porous, rock. Instead of flowing off the cliff, water seeps down into the rock until it hits an impermeable layer beneath and is forced to leak sideways. Where the water emerges, the cliff wall is weakened and eventually collapses. A box canyon forms as sections of wall collapse further and further back into the land. The heads of these canyons are marked by cliffs on at least three sides.
Box Canyon
Box canyons form when water emerges from a rock face. When the water meets an impermeable layer of stone it seeps into the surrounding permeable layers until it saturates the area. This saturation weakens the stone and it collapses, breaking away in layers. This forms a wide, three-sided canyon. Box Canyon in Florence, Arizona, is a prime example of where the water eroded the soft
volcanic bedrock to form this type of geologic feature.Slot Canyons
Slot canyons are narrow corridors sliced into eroding plateaus by periodic bursts of rushing water. Some measure less than a few feet across but drop several hundred feet to the floor.
Slot Canyon
A slot canyon is formed by rushing water. This occurs mainly on mountains where there is a steep landscape causing water to flow rapidly. The rushing water cuts down into the rock wearing a deep, narrow trench characterized by a 'V' shape. Zion National Park in Utah features a breathtaking display of what this type of erosion can do. A hairline fracture in a piece of stone after a few thousand years of flowing water breaking it open.
Details
You know it’s a good one when it’s said to take 5 hours to walk only 3.8km. Do not under-estimate this hike. It’s seriously amazing but seriously tough. There are huge ascents and descents and once in the canyon there are no track markers. There is also a danger of flash flooding and the whole area has a rock fall danger associated with the quarry blasting above. This is usually at 3.10pm on weekdays and there are warning sirens which precede the blasting so stay aware.
Start at the William Mitchell car park. The track can be walked both clockwise and anti-clockwise. Although clockwise is recommended, the descent that way round is extremely steep so we chose to take the track anti-clockwise to save our knees. Don’t be fooled – the other descent is still very steep and you will get jelly legs by the bottom. The tracks initial descent is a reasonably defined shale trail. Once reaching the bottom of the canyon turn left and follow the creek along the bank. The bank slowly disappears and the rock hopping begins! There are absolutely no markers from this point so continue following the creek down, and soon you’ll reach some giant limestone boulders. Make your own adventure at this point – there is no right or wrong way – and a lot of trial and error trying to navigate around these boulders. Again, keep straight. It took about an hour for us to make our way through the boulders. And watch out for the giant Goannas which inhabit this area!
Once through the boulders, you reach the Gorge floor, a mix of sand and rocks which have fallen. This is the main quarry blasting area so listen out for the sirens. It is also a popular rock climbing route so be aware of any climbers above you who may dislodge rocks. The gorge continues winding up the valley and gradually gets wider. Look out for the exit, it is only marked by a tiny red square on the left hand side of the rock. If you get to the big knocked over tree trunk and mini cave you’ve gone too far.
Slot Canyon Nsw Map
This is where the pain starts. The next 45mins are a vertical climb, hands over feet, grabbing onto whatever you can. It was very dry when we were there and the loose dirt did not help with grip. Although the track is infrequently marked here we managed to lose the trail as it is not an obvious one. By scrambling vertically up the cliff face we managed to rejoin it nearly at the top before it meanders its way back to the car park.
Slot Canyon Near Page Az
Make sure you check out the nearby lookout to appreciate just how far you’ve climbed.