A little farther on from where I got stuck, the walls of the gorge get significantly lower and it becomes more like a stream bed. About half way along this you turn out and head up the gentle slope of the mountain, making for a slight notch at the top. The rather nondescript notch is the start of Cowboy Canyon, and the scenic delights hidden there.
This valley/canyon drops quickly, the stream that forms it eventually emptying out in Admiralty Inlet. Much of the rock that is exposed here is sandstone, and the wind and water have eroded hoodoos and other fantastic shapes in it. It is a place that begs to be photographed and explored. Unfortunately, the late start, and delays enroute meant I had to head back shortly after getting there, so we only had the briefest of visits. Here then, are a few photographs to give you a taste of Cowboy Canyon (Land).
One of the most significant features here is a whole in the rock, large enough to drive a snowmobile through. This is a view of the party from the hole.
Here Becky stands in the tunnel.
A view down the canyon, beyond here it opens up a bit and then closes in quite small. There are hoodoos and a balancing rock farther down.
Leah looking down the canyon
Some of the fantastic forms carved in the rock by wind and water.
Travis hides in a smaller tunnel (not very happy to be made to pose in this, especially having to linger for his "Johnny comes lately" father).
In the tunnel.
Time to leave.
These photos barely scratch the surface of what is there, but time constraints pulled us away. Short climbs reveal fantastic hoods, rock surfaces, cracks and fissures. A person with a camera could spend many hours here, and showcase it better than these few photos do.
Comments
5 responses
Looks amazing, Clare!
THOSE BLOWN-OUT ROCKS ARE INCREDIBLE! Man, I know what I’m want to see when I visit Arctic Bay!
I had no idea that such a weird, magnificent landscape existed in the Arctic. Such a contrast to the seemingly unconstrained expanses I generally associate with the idea of the Arctic (like the second photo, for example). I love both: the open landscapes, with their connotations of freedom (probably dangerously misleading), and the almost-alien complexity of the canyon. Thanks Clare — and don’t be too self-deprecating: those are fine photos that evoke strong feelings of those places.
Love photos 8, 9 and ten. The hoodoos are awesome. And they are great photos. Did you tell the reason it is called cowboy canyon before and I have missed or forgotten this?
Thanks Liza.
They are Michael. We’ll head out there when you show up here. And thanks for the link on your blog.
Thanks Pete,
There are a number of areas like that here and the Pond Inlet area. If you look to the background of the “expansive” photo you’ll see the cliffs on the far shore of Admiralty Inlet perhaps 50 or more kilometres away.
Thanks Indigo. Although I don’t know for sure, I assume the origin of the name is that comes from the similarity between there and the landscapes in Cowboy movies.