An Awesome Gorge

Happy Birthday, grandson Liam!!!

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a 48 mile long gorge through steep canyons, but at its narrowest point at the bottom of those canyon walls it is less than a quarter of a mile wide. Rim to rim at its widest it is 9 miles wide compared to the Grand Canyon at 21 miles wide. In those 48 miles, the river drops an average of 96 feet per mile and at one point it drops 480 feet in a two mile stretch. The park covers only 14 miles of the canyon. I think I read that this canyon is the steepest and narrowest canyon in the US. It was named Black Canyon because of that steepness, one cannot see the bottom because it is shrouded in a dark shadow.

We hiked a two mile loop trail along the ridge of the canyon and then enjoyed several view points along the rim. John spotted a bobcat with a dead rabbit trotting along the side of the road. We also have numerous mule deer grazing their way through the campground. They all seem to have a fawn or two with them. A bear has been sighted in the area but we haven't see her and her two cubs.

Being a national park, they try to teach us about the geology of the area. What we have gotten out of that is that there are many, many layers of different types of rock that have been pushed and shoved, then eroded by the river over two million years. The colors streaking across the canyon walls are amazing. One wall is called the picture wall and I could make out two long, skinny, pink dragons flying across its face. I dare you to see them too!

In 1901 explorers tried to navigate down the river through the canyon and came out saying it could not be done. But two more explorers inflated rubber air mattresses, loaded them with supplies and floated down the full length of the canyon. It was a wild ride! A few years later, because of their discoveries, a 15 mile tunnel from the river at the upper canyon was dug through the hard rock and out into the valley to deliver water to a parched land that is now rich and fertile farm lands. In 1939 it was made into a national monument and in 1999 was dedicated as a national park.

TMI? Enjoy the pictures.