Canyon of sculpted rocks
Shaocheng Ji
Département des
Génies Civil, Géologique et des Mines, École Polytechnique de Montréal,
Montréal, Québec, H3C 3A7, Canada
A canyon of sculpted rocks (CSR) is a slot canyon with undulating walls, formed by lateral connection of vertical or subvertical potholes in resistant rocks such as sandstone, granite, gneiss, basalt, tuff, conglomerate and limestone. The canyons of sculpted rocks are particularly spectacular in rose-red, cross-bedded sandstones and form natural wonders of tourist attraction. The potholes, which are cylindrical holes drilled into the bedrock, are the most conspicuous abrasion sculpture forms caused by floor swirling eddy currents forcing particles (e.g., sand, gravels, pebbles and cobbles) to spin around and erode hollows through abrasion/corrosion in bedrock channels. The canyon of sculpted rocks formed through agglomeration of multiple, initially separate, enlarging and overlapping potholes during their progressive growth. The surfaces of the rocky canyon walls are generally smooth but extremely undulated with remaining ridges separating the partial potholes. The undulations are actually the remnants of the inner walls of breached potholes. The undulating walls have been preserved because the substrates are cohesive and highly resistant, lacking valley-wall collapse.
Canyons of sculpted rocks, which are results of ephemeral incision due to flashy summer thunder-storms, are found in many parts of the world, predominantly in areas with relatively low rainfall. The most typical and best-known canyons sculpted rocks have been found in the Southwestern United States (e.g., Utah and Arizona). Other significant areas include the regions of red beds in Southwest and Northwest China, and Africa.
"Canyon of sculpted rocks" was first used by Shaocheng Ji to describe the Longying Canyon, Lishi Town, Jiangjin, Chongqing, China.
Longying Canyon of sculpted rocks, Lishi Town, Jiangjin, Chongqing, China
Of the typical canyons of sculpted rocks are: Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA; Longying Canyon, Lishi Town, Jiangjin, Chongqing, China;Yucha Canyon,
Ganquan County, Yan’an City, Shanxi, China; Buckskin Gulch, Utah, USA;The Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah, USA;Wire Pass Canyon, Utah, USA;Coyote Creek, Utah, USA; Quandary Canyon, Utah, USA;Hog Canyon, Utah;Cistern and Ramp Canyon, UtahCockermouth River, Sculptured Rocks Natural Area,Groton, NH, USA;Treur River (Bourke's Luck Potholes), South Africa.

Buckskin Gulch, Utah, USA

Zebra slot canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA
Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA

Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA

Yucha Canyon, Yan’an, Shanxi, China

Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA
雕岩谷
嵇少丞
雕岩谷(Canyon of sculpted rocks)是一种具悬崖曲壁的狹窄叡谷地貌景观,由湍急流水携带砂砾等沉积物对岩石中先存的构造薄弱部位(例如,节理与破裂)长期冲刷、刻饰、磨蚀(包括部分溶蚀)而成的无数壶穴贯通而成的复杂而连续的基岩河道。虽然在花岗岩、玄武岩、石灰岩等基岩中也有发现,但在发育交错层理的、彩色(大多为黄色或红黄色)锦绣般的、特别处于气候干燥、年降雨量少(植被不发育、岩面无苔藓)的砂岩中尤为曼妙优美。
2017年11月加拿大华裔地质学教授嵇少丞等在重庆市江津区李市镇龙吟村考察时首先命名了雕岩谷。这类地貌主要分布在美国西南部、南非、东非、中欧和澳大利亚等地,迄今为止在中国福建宁德市福安区穆云畲族乡蟾溪村花岗岩、贵州平塘的河床岩(石灰岩)、磐安夹溪(火山岩)亦有发现,但以重庆市江津区李市镇的龙吟和陕西省延安市甘泉县下寺湾镇雨岔村的两处砂岩中的雕岩谷最为典型,最具观赏价值。