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By Sarah Dutton
Oct 11 2019
Slot canyons are deep channels eroded into rock. They are often ten times deeper than they are wide, and some even approach a depth-to-width ratio of 100:1 (USDA, 2005). Slot canyons are especially common in in the southwestern United States, though they can be found in many other dry places around the world. When rain does occur, there is a high risk of flash floods in slot canyons. These floods can be fatal to hikers, because the steep, tall canyon walls can make exit impossible before the floodwater rushes in (National Park Service, 2019). With looming walls, dramatic twists and turns, and vibrant rock layers, slot canyons remain a popular tourist attraction, despite their danger. Botanists are also drawn to the canyons, which—because of water seeping through sandstone canyon walls, riparian zones at the bottom, and variations in elevation and exposure—contain microclimates that host different ecological communities from the larger landscape (USDA, 2005).
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A view from the floor of The Narrows in Utah's Zion National Park. Many plants can be seen, from the riparian zone at the floor of the canyon to the tops of the canyon walls.
Digitization of NYBG Steere Herbarium specimens of the Southern Rocky Mountains of the United States and the writing of this story made possible through a National Science Foundation digitization grant (award #1701575).
References:
National Park Service. (2017, July 9). Ferns. National Park Service. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/ferns.htm
National Park Service. (2018, October 3). Plants. National Park Service. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/plants.htm
National Park Service. (2019, September 3). Flash Floods. National Park Service. Retrieved October 8, 2019, from https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/flash-flood.htm.
Native American Ethnobotany Database. (2003). Retrieved October 1, 2019, from http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Chenopodium+fremontii
Trock, D. K. 2006. Packera quercetorum. Flora of North America. Retrieved October 8, 2019, from http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Packera_quercetorum.
United States Department of Agriculture. (2005). Soil Survey of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Area, Parts of Kane and Garfield Counties, Utah. Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved October 8, 2019, from https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/utah/UT686/0/UT%20686%20-%20GSENM.pdf.