Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado is an awesome gorge. There are three Scenic drives - North Rim Road, East Portal Road and South Rim Road. The two RV Gypsies found themselves at the North Rim Road. |
The North Rim is reached by taking a gravel road from the east end of Crawford State Park. The North Rim Road provides access to 6 overlooks. The canyon walls on the North Rim are almost vertical, offering some of the most impressive views found in the national park. |
The Narrows Lookout |
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A partial railing keeps visitors safe from falling into the canyon. |
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Geology: The Gunnison River
The Gunnison River drops an average of 34 feet per mile through the entire canyon, making the 5th steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile. The greatest descent of the Gunnison River occurs in the park at Chasm View dropping 240 feet per mile. 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 across at the river.
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. |
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Black Canyon of the Gunnison has some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River, along with the forces of weathering, has sculpted this vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky. |
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The North Rim of the Black Canyon is far more scenic than the South Rim. The canyon seems wider, the views of the river are more expansive, and there are far less people. There is no way to get from the South Rim to North Rim without a long drive. |
Balanced Rock |
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Looking straight down into the canyon |
Looking across the canyon |
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Lee Duquette on the easy trail back to the car |
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Big Island |
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