Nature: Australia's Blue Mountain Slot Canyons (Claustral Canyon)
 Just a few hours' drive west of Sydney, Australia's rugged Blue Mountain region is home to hundreds of slot canyons – deep fissures created by the erosive effects of water rushing through sandstone. Veteran guide John Robens (far left) leads a soggy team through a moss-covered passage in Claustral Canyon, so named for its claustrophobia-inducing passages.  The Blue Mountain region is actually an ancient sedimentary plateau deeply incised by river erosion and densely carpeted in eucalyptus. Locating a canyon's entry point in this thickly-wooded area can require hours of bushwalking, all while a canyoneer is typically hauling as much as 9kg of gear, including a rope, wet suit, food and first aid supplies.  Like a giant flushing toilet bowl, the Black Hole of Calcutta in Claustral Canyon, named for a small mid-18th Century dungeon in India that held British prisoners of war, appears to swallow photographer Carsten Peter.  As adventurers finally reach the light, cascades of mammoth ferns flourish in the humid air trapped between Claustral Canyon's narrow walls. (Carsten Peter/National Geographic Stock) | | |
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