Where is the closest to western Europe to see desert mountains with slot canyons?
The southwestern USA has desert mountains and canyons. They are famous and have extensive tourist infrastructure with national parks, national monuments, state parks, roads, trails, etc. However, they are not unique:
Valles Calchaquíes, Argentina:
Garganta del Diablo, Valles Calchaques, Argentina (source: Wikimedia Commons).
Tianshan, China:
Keziliya Canyon, Xinjiang, China (source: Cultural China). Location on Panoramio.
Where is the closest to western Europe to find such landscapes? Southwest USA, Argentina, and China, are all rather far away. Are there similar landscapes closer to western Europe, but mostly overlooked and unknown? What I'm looking for is a landscape that a casual (American) observer, believing the landscapes in xyr country to be unique, might confuse for being in Utah or Arizona. The semi-arid landscape of southern Spain does not meet this criteria. Searching Google Images for Rif or Atlas mountains doesn't really show similar landscapes either — but Google Images is not the most reliable source. Do such landscapes exist in the Sahara or Middle East?
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SHH! Secret slot canyons you need to see in Arizona - ABC15 Digital
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