Painted Canyon Slot Canyon
January 02, 2010
Photographer: Wendy Van Norden
Summary Author: Wendy Van Norden
Slot canyons are very narrow steep-sided gorges that result from rapid erosion, often due to uplift, of easily erodible but coherent rock units such as sandstone or limestone. Painted Canyon, shown above, was carved into the clay-rich sedimentary rock of the badlands near Mecca Hills, California. It's been upthrusted here by the San Andreas Fault. I'm happy to report that a sturdy aluminum ladder, not in the picture, is available for climbing. Photo taken along the Ladder Trail, of the Painted Canyon, on April 30, 2009.
Painted Canyon, California Coordinates: 33.618958, -115.999697