WSP10172 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I III III .. ClI The Painted Wall (above) is the result of moUen material forced under greal pressure into the cracks and joints 01 the base rock. These sheer walls are an ideal home tor the prairie falcon (inset). Perhaps you will be fortunate enough to see one. An Awesome Gorge "Several western canyons exceed tile Black C(lnyon In overall S;7P.," WA!!~r::P H:<nspn wrote- ",Iter ~!lJdy!ng the geology at the region for a number of years "Some are longer: some are deeper; some are narrower: and a few tlave walls as steep. But no other canyon in North Amenca combines ttle depth, nalrow~ ness, sheerness. and somber countenance of Ule Black Canyon of the Gunnison," And it is fargely because of this unique com- bination of geologic features that the Black Canyon has been preserved in its wild state. II The Black Canyon, whIch has been carved by the Gunnison RIver as It hurries to jam the Colorado. is 85 kilometers (53 miles) long, but only the deepest. most spectacular 19 kilometers (12 miles) of the gorge lie within Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. Slanting rays of sunlight penetrate thIs deep and narrow canyon s dark gray walls of schIst and gneiss that are shrouded in heavy shadows most of the day-hence. 'Black Can- yon... East of the park the Gunnison River has been Impounded and famed behind three dams, In the Black Canyon, however, it remains one of the few unspoiled wild rivers In tile country. The canyon and its rims are home to a variety of WIldlife, from the chipmunkS and ground squirrelS 10 weasels, badgers, marmots, --- Our surroundings were of the wildest possible description. The roar 01 the water falls was con- stantly in our ears, and the walls 01 the canon, tow- ering half mile in height above us, were seemingly vertical. Occasionally a rock would fall from one ~ side or the other, with a roar and crash, exploding ;1 like a ton of dynamite when it struck bottom, mak- 0, ing us think our last day had come. II Abraham Lincoln Fellows. 190~, JI L ~ III " ~ =~ ~.-...-.- ~ :: ~~ d:I II '1 " Ill: I! ("..") <:;.;t Do ~ N ~ l'JI . ,J W \\ II '~II :lo Il:l I] , ICII -- Your time in the park can be spent in a number 01 ways (left): enjoying a nature walk. driving along the Norlh Aim Drive. or hiking to the canyon 'Ioor, have been gnawed on. you will have found evidence that porcu- pines :UE' th9reabo~t~. for the b.Jrk of pi:1Ycr. p:;-:c i:; one ~f ::'8 favorIte foods of these nocturnal animals. The Gambel oak and serviceberry that cover most of the Gunnison Uplift provide a good habItat for towhees, western tanagers. pinyon and scrub jays. and black-billed magpies The cliffs are home to white- throated swifts. violet-green swallo~vs. gOlden eagles. turkey vultures. and red-taIled hawks. who all take advantage of the updraHs far saarjn~J The canyon may be the last shelter in Colorado for the peregrine falcon By the last decade of the 19th century there was mucll interest ;;-: tnpp;(,g :he Cunnisci: niver <:13 a 30urCE at '.\later fer :he Uncompahgre Valley_ In 1900 five Valley men made a herOIC effort to float through the canyon with surveying equIpment. but after a month.s effort, they had to admit defeat In 1901 William Torrence and Abraham Lincoln Fellows. learmng a lesson from the previous trip. took a rubber mattress for a rail. arranged to be supplied at various pOints from the (1m. and were able to make their way through the canyon ~53 kllorneters (33 rrllles) in nine days From the engineeflng log the two men kepI. It was obvious that an imgation tunnel was a feasible project In Jan- uary 1905 constructIon work began on the diverSIon tunnel. Progress was slow because 01 Hle many ditilcultles that the work crews encountered. Intense heal. violenl cascades of water. and unstable rock formations were lust a few of the problems the engineers had to deal with. Wtlen finIshed the tunnel measured 9.3 kilometers (58 miles) long and could carry enough water to irrigate a sizable farmIng communIty. Eigllt years alter Torrence and Fellow's trip. on September 23. 1909. Presi(fenl Wrfllam Howard Taft presided over the dedicatIOn ceremonIes for the Gunnison Diversion Tunnel. a notable engmeerrng achIevement of this or any time. Though a home to wildlIfe. Ihe canyon has been a mighty barrier 10 human beings. Archeological evidence indicates that pre- hlstonc man. and later the Utes. used only the canyon rims. never living In the gorge. The first whIte men to see the great chasm actually were members of the Hayden Expedition in 1873-74, It appears 1I1at the Spaniards, inclUding the famed Dominguez-Escalante ExpedItIon in 1776. all missed s8elOg the canyon as they came over the Uncompahgre Plafeau and into tile Uncompahgre Valley on various journeys of exploration. Even the group led by Cap!. John W Gunnison, whose name has become permanently attached to tile river. bypassed the gorge rtself rn its search for a river crossing. The Hayden Expedition and later surveying parties for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad all pronounced the Black Canyon inacceSSible" here. In the late 19205. citizens of Montrose and other area towns. led by Rev. Mark. T Warner and local CIvic groups. began efforts to ",'''<'>''''',., The canyon.s landscape was formed by the slow. but continuous and unYleldlllg process of eroslon~the effect of one drop of water at a tIme or the scouring by a seasonally flood~swollen fiver. the rush 01 mud-laden side streams after heavy rains. occa- sional rockfalls from high clIffs. and the relentless creep of land- slides The river first established its course over soft volcanic rock It 1I1en cut lI"ough this rock to the harder and older crystal- line rock of the present canyon that had been thrust up in a domc-shuped formation known as the Gunnison Uplift. Once commItted to ItS course. the stream had no alternative but to continue to cut through this once-buried hard core. taking about 2 millIon years to carve tile gorge. The excavating process is still going on. but at a slower pace because of the dams upstream have tt1e scenic beauty of the canyon preserved as a part of the N3ticn~1 Pmk System. On March ~. 1933. President Herbert Hoover proclaImed Black Canyon of the Gunnison National MlJlf'cl",'r Imlr,tn parnft)rush Golden eaglp. Monument. Since that time. thousands have enjoyed the scenic grandeur of Black Canyon A smaller number of hardy individuals have IlIked to Ille bollom 01 the canyon for fishing, rock climbing, and c(1mpln~J. Most of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument is classlhed now as wilderness in an attempt to ensure that tile landscape WIll remain forever in its natural state.