The
Black Canyon of the Gunnison's unique and spectacular landscape
was formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down
through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock. No other canyon in
North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and
startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Sheer black walls of schist and gneiss plummet as much as 2,700
feet along the 53-mile stretch of narrow gorge known as the
Black Canyon. The 14 miles that lie within the park are like a
raw cut in the Earth's crust, exposing geologic viscera and
illuminating millions of years of history. On the canyon floor,
the Gunnison River rips through the gorge as it did 30 million
years ago, when it began carving a chasm into the hard black
rock of the Gunnison Uplift. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is
our newest national park — its status changed from monument to
park on October 21, 1999. The park service commemorated the
event by adding 10,000 acres of wilderness to help protect the
striking beauty and wildlife habitat of this river corridor.
Hikers
can experience the canyon from a variety of perspectives by
hiking along the North Rim, the South Rim, and on inner-canyon
routes that descend deep into the chasm. Grab your binoculars to
snoop on park denizens like the yellow-bellied marmot, a jolly
rodent that likes to sunbathe on rocky ledges and outcrops. If
you want to catch a glimpse of the Peregrine Falcon, you'd
better be quick on the draw — it's the fastest bird in the
world.
The
Black Canyon of the Gunnison's unique and spectacular landscape
was formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down
through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock. No other canyon in
North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and
startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Sheer black walls of schist and gneiss plummet as much as 2,700
feet along the 53-mile stretch of narrow gorge known as the
Black Canyon. The 14 miles that lie within the park are like a
raw cut in the Earth's crust, exposing geologic viscera and
illuminating millions of years of history. On the canyon floor,
the Gunnison River rips through the gorge as it did 30 million
years ago, when it began carving a chasm into the hard black
rock of the Gunnison Uplift. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is
our newest national park — its status changed from monument to
park on October 21, 1999. The park service commemorated the
event by adding 10,000 acres of wilderness to help protect the
striking beauty and wildlife habitat of this river corridor.
Hikers
can experience the canyon from a variety of perspectives by
hiking along the North Rim, the South Rim, and on inner-canyon
routes that descend deep into the chasm. Grab your binoculars to
snoop on park denizens like the yellow-bellied marmot, a jolly
rodent that likes to sunbathe on rocky ledges and outcrops. If
you want to catch a glimpse of the Peregrine Falcon, you'd
better be quick on the draw — it's the fastest bird in the
world.