Antelope Canyon on the Navajo Nation, east of Page, Arizona, United States

Antelope Canyon on the Navajo Nation, east of Page, Arizona, United States

© Mark Skalny/Getty Image

Born to rock. International Rock Day

International Rock Day, observed on 13 July, celebrates the geological building blocks beneath our feet and encourages curiosity about how rocks shape Earth's landscapes and history. From the dramatic cliffs of Britain's coastline to vast desert canyons abroad, rocks reveal stories of ancient seas, shifting continents and life over millions of years.

Few places illustrate those processes as vividly as Antelope Canyon, a narrow slot canyon on Navajo Nation land east of Page, Arizona, in the United States. Carved from Navajo Sandstone by flash floods and erosion, its smooth, flowing walls demonstrate the extraordinary power of water to shape rock over time. Shafts of sunlight filter through narrow openings above, illuminating the canyon's red and orange sandstone in ever-changing patterns.

On International Rock Day, landscapes like this transform geology into a living gallery, inviting visitors to see rocks not as static objects, but as remarkable records of our planet's dynamic past.

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