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Page > Water Holes Canyon
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Water Holes is yet another beautiful slot canyon that cuts through the red Navajo sandstone rocks around Lake Powell. It is only a few miles from Page and flows into the short section of Glen Canyon that remains intact; as with nearby Antelope Canyon, the watercourse extends either side of a main road (US 89) and becomes much deeper downstream, with a number of sheer drops.
Various narrow passageways both west and especially east of the road have exceptionally pretty rock formations with the curved, delicately colored rocks characteristic of this region, here nicely illuminated as the canyon although often very narrow is in general not too deep for sunlight to be excluded.
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Location: Despite being close to Page and the main road, Water Holes is not too well known and is visited much less often than Antelope Canyon. The canyon runs east-west about 7 miles south of Page, meeting the Colorado River a short distance above Lees Ferry, passing under US 89 at milepost 542 and extending several miles southeast, where it branches several times. The canyon is identified by a sign next to to the US 89 road bridge.
Permit: Water Holes Canyon lies on Navajo land and so a hiking permit must be obtained. As with Antelope Canyon, guided tours are available from several local companies, visiting the short section just east of the highway, though most people explore independently.
The best place to acquire the permit is at the Tribal Parks Office next to the Leche-e Chapter House, 3 miles south of Page along the Copper Mine Road; it can be purchased at the office on the day of the visit, or in advance by postal applications (see www.navajonationparks.org/permits.htm).
Photographs: 12 views of Water Holes Canyon.
Photographs 2: 12 views of upper Water Holes Canyon.
Map: TerraServer topological map of Water Holes Canyon.
Description: Water Holes can be explored in three separate sections:
- Downstream of US 89: Between the highway and the junction with Glen Canyon are various vertical drops of up to 50 feet, so following downstream requires several ropes, or a combination of rim walking and use of different entry/exit points to hike along specific sections.
- Upstream of US 89: The canyon immediately east of US 89 is less deep, but has nicer narrows and is quite easy to follow. This is the most popular section, and is the part visited by the Navajo guided tours.
- The Upper Canyon: One branch of the upper canyon, 3 miles from US 89 has the longest, narrowest slots of the whole system, though rather more effort is necessary to reach it.
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