圖／侯賀良 文／王雪芃

?

縫隙中的夢幻漣漪

圖／侯賀良 文／王雪芃

THE DREAMLJKE ANTELOPE CANYON

○ 陽光自頂部傾瀉而下，反復折射進入谷底。Sunshine pours down from the top and enters into the bottom of the canyon after repeated refl ections.

○ 除了光線的變化，峽谷內(nèi)舒緩的線條與奇異的巖石形態(tài)也同樣讓人驚詫。Except for the change of the rays of light, the soothing lines and strange rock forms are also amazing.

風拂過水面會留下層層漣漪，曾以為那份流動的美感只屬于柔軟的流體，但在美國亞利桑那州，水和堅硬的巖石交融在一起，織就了極富動態(tài)美的地下深谷——羚羊峽谷。巖石經(jīng)過陽光的涂抹，造就了一個美輪美奐的光影夢境，成為以紅色砂巖著稱的科羅拉多高原的經(jīng)典景觀。

早聽聞羚羊峽谷是世界十大地質(zhì)奇跡之一，也是攝影愛好者必去的拍攝圣地。在驅(qū)車前往的路上，好奇與期待隨著科羅拉多高原起伏的地勢奔走呼號，越過科羅拉多大峽谷、鮑威爾湖和錫安國家公園等著名景區(qū)，停留在了一個叫佩吉的安靜小鎮(zhèn)。雖然佩吉是通向科羅拉多高原各地的交通樞紐，被各種舉世聞名的國家公園包圍，但這座小鎮(zhèn)卻普通得讓人辨識不出。除了寬敞的公路和街道、普普通通的酒店和飯館之外，唯一醒目的只有城外發(fā)電廠佇立的3個高大煙囪。據(jù)長期來往于此地的向?qū)дf，每天都有各色豪華旅游大巴，載著到美國西部走馬看花的游客穿過這個平凡的小鎮(zhèn)，但卻很少有人注意這里。人們無意在車窗外這個不起眼的市鎮(zhèn)逗留，卻也常常無意間錯過一個近在咫尺的驚艷美景。

自小鎮(zhèn)向東深入納瓦霍印第安保護區(qū)，荒漠將羚羊峽谷分為上下兩段，藏匿在那片常年干涸的河道之中。站在山坡高處瞭望這一望無際的荒原，很容易讓人對來此的目的產(chǎn)生懷疑：這植被稀疏的丘陵地帶哪有什么峽谷？只有稍低的洼地讓這片荒原看上去有些起伏，凹陷部分的兩側(cè)有不到一米高的土崗，上面的波紋有點像連綿的土靈芝，紋路連接著不深不淺的地縫在向遠處延伸，算是這一大片讓人疲憊的紅土地上比較醒目的地方。而帶路的印第安人似乎已經(jīng)習慣了游客質(zhì)疑的表情，笑而不語地指引人們走向其中一條地縫。

順著這條不到1米寬的巖石縫向地下深入，不過幾步便豁然開朗。感覺就像穿過了時空縫隙來到了異世界，它如同一個光怪陸離的藝術(shù)宮殿，用驚艷都不足以形容眼前的奇異景觀。谷內(nèi)幽深寧靜，谷底十分平坦，兩側(cè)光溜溜的砂巖壁上呈現(xiàn)出各種曲線的三維組合，水平的波紋和縱向的波浪形曲面相交，凹凸有致，曲徑通幽。峽谷頂部的陽光從頭頂上的天縫里傾瀉下來，經(jīng)過巖石紋理的反復折射進入谷底后產(chǎn)生了夢幻般不規(guī)則的色彩變化，線條清晰形態(tài)各異的巖石也伴隨著這些變化的光線而變幻無窮。各色光束像舞臺上的追光燈，緩緩地掃過地縫。紅色的砂巖在光影里呈現(xiàn)出柔和的各種暖色色階，從橙黃到赤紫，像火焰在舞蹈，像飄動的絲綢，也像蕩漾的漣漪。

○ 光與影共舞，交織出一個色彩斑斕的地下奇觀。Light dancing with shade creates the gorgeous underground wonder.

而此時的印第安向?qū)t帶著滿意的笑向我們介紹這片奇觀。構(gòu)成羚羊峽谷的紅色巖石被稱為納瓦霍砂巖，在當?shù)卣Z言中，這里被形容為“螺旋巖石拱門”。納瓦霍砂巖之所以呈現(xiàn)出鮮艷的紅色或橘紅色，是因為鐵元素以氧化物的形式同沙子一同沉淀下來，這些氧化物如赤鐵礦、褐鐵礦等就充當了紅色的染色劑。在百萬年的歷史長河中，柔軟的砂巖被各種侵蝕，水與風都在此留下痕跡。狹小的縫隙中山洪尤為湍急，雨季形成的暴洪更是兇猛粗暴地涌入，夾帶著砂石在狹窄的峽谷中反復沖擊。隨著時間的推移，通道內(nèi)表層的砂巖被蠶食殆盡，于是更深層次巖石上便留下變化莫測的“流動”印記，仿佛這里的巖石以非常優(yōu)雅的方式將水流的印記永久得留了下來。

也許美麗的巖石紋路本不足以驚嘆人們的眼睛，但斑斕的色彩猶如為光滑的肌理穿上了彩色的綢緞。峽谷內(nèi)部的斑斕色彩并沒有人工照明，完全仰仗自然光的折射。光線清晰流暢，色彩絢麗和諧。巖壁上的線條隨著光柱流動，變幻莫測，這一瞬間仿佛真能感受到來自天堂的光芒，神圣而炫目，虔誠而靜謐，給人以非常強烈的視覺沖擊力和無限的想象空間?；秀遍g，似有身著絢麗舞裙的舞者走進了光的舞臺，在清晨與黃昏之間交錯，旋轉(zhuǎn)的裙擺搖曳著一場光的變奏曲，流動與凝固共存，光影與色彩共舞，每一個時刻，每一個角度都能點亮觀者的眼眸。讓人在這片狹小的縫隙中，驚覺自然的匠心妙手。

The mysterious and haunting beauty of Antelope Canyon (also known as “Corkscrew Canyon”, one of the few slot canyons in the area) awaits the adventurous traveler who seeks to discover one of the most spectacular -- yet little known attractions of the Lake Powell area. A tour to this awe-inspiring sculpture set in stone is a must for amateur and professional photographers alike. Come see nature’s surprising masterpiece of color.

Antelope Canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding and secondarily due to other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in such a way as to form characteristic ‘lowing’ shapes in the rock.

Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, “the place where water runs through rocks” by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists for two reasons. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams (shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings in the top of the canyon) are much more common in Upper than in Lower. Beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are a little more muted like the photo displayed here. Summer months provide two types of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 20 and disappear October 7 each year.

○ 仿佛經(jīng)縫隙沉入了一個迷幻的夢境。As if you were sinking into a psychedelic dreamland through a crack.

○ 峽谷中的迷幻色彩。Fantastic color in the canyon.