Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location	Montrose County, Colorado, USA
Nearest city	MontroseNearest city: Montrose
Coordinates	38°34′0″N 107°43′0″W / 38.566667°N 107.716667°W / 38.566667; -107.716667Coordinates: 38°34′0″N 107°43′0″W / 38.566667°N 107.716667°W / 38.566667; -107.716667
Area	30,750 acres (124.44 km²)
Established	October 21, 1999 Established: October 21, 1999
Visitors	219,576 (in 2007)
Governing body	National Park Service

Satellite image of the park and Curecanti National Recreation Area.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a United States National Park located in western Colorado, and managed by the National Park Service. There are two entrances to the park; the more-developed south rim entrance is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Montrose, while the north rim entrance is located 11 miles (18 km) south of Crawford and is closed in the winter. The park contains 12 miles (19 km) of the 48-mile (77 km) long canyon of the Gunnison river. The national park itself contains the deepest and most dramatic section of the canyon, but the canyon continues upstream into the Curecanti National Recreation Area and downstream into the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.

Geology

The Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile (8 m/km) through the entire canyon, making it one of the steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile (1.4 m/km). The greatest descent of the Gunnison River occurs in the park at Chasm View dropping 240 feet per mile (45 m/km).^[1] The Black Canyon is so named on account of its steepness which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate very far down the canyon. As a result, the canyon walls are most often in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black. At its narrowest point the canyon is only 40 feet (12 m) across at the river.^[1][2]

The extreme steepness and depth of the Black Canyon formed as the result of several geologic processes acting together. The Gunnison River is primarily responsible for carving the canyon, though several other geologic events had to occur in order to form the canyon as it is seen today.^[3]

Overview Black Canyon with Gunnison River

Precambrian

The Precambrian gneiss and schist that makes up the majority of the steep walls of the black canyon formed 1.7 billion years ago during a metamorphic period brought on by the collision of ancient volcanic island arcs with the southern end of what we now know as Wyoming. The lighter-colored pegmatite dikes that can be seen crosscutting the basement rocks formed during this period as well.^[4]

Cretaceous - Tertiary

The entire area underwent uplift during the Laramide orogeny between 70 and 40 million years ago which was also part of the Gunnison Uplift. This raised the Precambrian gneisses and schists that make up the canyon walls. During the Tertiary from 26 to 35 million years ago large episodes of volcanism occurred in the area immediately surrounding the present day Black Canyon. The West Elk Mountains, La Sal Mountains, Henry Mountains, and Abajo Mountains all contributed to burying the area in several thousand feet of volcanic ash and debris.^[5]

The modern Gunnison River set its course 15 million years ago as the run-off from the nearby La Sal and West Elk Mountains and the Sawatch Range began carving through the relatively soft volcanic deposits.^[5]

Painted Wall on the north side of the canyon. It is the highest sheer cliff in Colorado at 2250 feet (685 m). Lighter-colored pegmatite dikes are clearly visible.

Quaternary

With the Gunnison River’s course set, a broad uplift in the area from 2 to 3 million years ago caused the river to cut down through the softer volcanic deposits. Eventually the river reached the Precambrian rocks of the Gunnison Uplift. Since the river was unable to change its course, it began scouring through the extremely hard metamorphic rocks of the Gunnison Uplift. The river’s flow was much larger than currently, with much higher levels of turbidity. As a result the river dug down through the Precambrian gneiss and schist at the rate of 1-inch (25 mm) every 100 years. The extreme hardness of the metamorphic rock along with the relative quickness with which the river carved through them created the steep walls that can be seen today.^[5]

A number of feeder canyons running into the Black Canyon slope in the wrong direction for water to flow into the canyon. It is believed that less-entrenched streams in the region have shifted to a more north-flowing drainage pattern in response to a change in the tilt of the surrounding terrain. The west-flowing Gunnison, however, was essentially trapped in the hard Precambrian rock of the Black Canyon and could not change its course.^[6]

Black Canyon from Kneeling Camel View

History

The Ute Indians had known the canyon to exist for a long time before the first Europeans saw it. By the time the United States gained independence in 1776, two Spanish expeditions had passed by the canyons. In the 1800s, the numerous fur trappers searching for beaver pelts would have known of the canyon's existence but they left no written record. By the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, the canyon had been thoroughly explored and while the first explorers came for commercial success and wealth, the later visitors came to see the canyon as an opportunity for recreation and personal enjoyment.^[7] The area was established as a U.S. National Monument on March 2, 1933 and made into a National Park on October 21, 1999.^[8]

Biology

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park contains a wide variety of flora and fauna. Some common plants that are native to the park include Aspen, Ponderosa pine, Sagebrush, Desert Mahogany, Utah Juniper, Gambel oak (scrub oak) and Singleleaf Ash.^[9] Wildlife in the park include coyotes, elk, magpies, eagles, and the mule deer. In addition the canyon is the home of a number of resident birds including the Great Horned Owl, the American dipper and Steller's Jay and migratory birds such as the Mountain Bluebird, the Peregrine Falcon, the White-throated Swift and the Canyon Wren.^[10]

Attractions

The narrowest part of the Black Canyon, looking down from Chasm View at twilight.

The main attraction of the park is the scenic drive along the south rim. There is a campground and several miles of hiking and nature trails. The north rim is accessible by automobile, though it is quite remote, and has a small, primitive campground. The river can be accessed by a steep, unmaintained trail that takes about four hours to hike down and six to hike back up.

The Black Canyon is a center for rock climbing, in a style known as traditional climbing. Most of the climbs are difficult and are only done by advanced climbers.^[11]

Rafting opportunities exist in the region, but the run through the park itself is a difficult technical run for only the best kayakers. There are several impassible stretches of water requiring long, sometimes dangerous portages to get around. The remaining rapids are class III - V, and are for expert river runners only.^[12] Downstream, in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, the river is somewhat easier, though still very remote and for experienced runners only, with rapids that are Class III - IV.^[13].^[14]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (official site)
• Geology and photo gallery of Black Canyon
• Chicago Tribune - A slash in the mesa
• Frank Erickson (1923-1996), Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a symphonic poem which has been performed on the rim of the canyon

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