Big Box Canyon

East side of the Stillwater Range draining into Dixie Valley, central Nevada. This is one of several spectacular slot canyons along the range front here. The range is being uplifted so quickly (geologically speaking) that erosion hasn't had time to broaden the canyons. The canyons have a rough "wineglass" cross section, with a somewhat wider upper part tapering downward. This is one of the geomorphologic indicators of active faulting!

A "box" canyon traditionally, of course, was one that ended at an unclimbable bluff, and this canyon qualifies there, too. When I was last here in fall 2000, there'd been an aluminum ladder up where that waterfall is, so that (in theory, anyway) you could bypass the cliff, but evidently it washed away in one or another flood over the years. The creek is _not_ generally running like this; it's a result of spring snowmelt in a good year! When I was here before there was no waterfall, just damp rock.

The left inset shows a view of the range front, with this canyon highlighted. The right inset shows a more oblique view, looking back southwesterly, with Little Box Canyon (yes, there is one!) also highlighted. I also tried to embed a video of the flowing waterfall as a PiP, but evidently that doesn't work, so I've posted it separately.