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<br />... <br /> <br />in the form of spring and summer rains. Access to the <br />inner canyon is normally blocked by snow from November <br />through May. The South Rim Road is open year round, <br />and to Pulpit Rock Overlook in winter during snow <br />season. The prevailing wind is southwesterly and can <br />be moderately high in velocity (35 to 50 knots) during <br />storms and in early spring, owing to elevation and <br />exposure. As with many canyons, temperatures on the <br />canyon floor can be 10 to 15 degrees higher and the <br />wind velocity greater than on the rim. <br /> <br />2. Topography <br /> <br />The elevation of the canyon rim ranges from 7400 to <br />8000 feet above sea level. The canyon floor is about <br />6000 feet above sea level. Canyon walls with heights <br />up to 2000 feet elevation vary from steeply-sloped <br />ridges with deep side canyons, to nearly vertical walls <br />of unbroken Precambrian rock. The canyon rim is, for <br />the most part, gently rolling and occasionally cut by <br />steep side canyons. Because of the precipitous walls, <br />no constructed and maintained trails exist from the rim <br />to the canyon floor. There are six primitive access <br />routes and they are all subject to rock slides, debris <br />flows and flooding. Floor-level access by trail is <br />available at East Portal from Curecanti <br />National Recreation Area and this extends for a short <br />distance into the canyon. <br /> <br />3. Inner Canyon <br /> <br />The Gunnison River is an excellent cold-water game fish <br />habitat and is designated by the Colorado Division of <br />Wildlife as, "Gold Medal Fishing Waters." Limited <br />access, unscheduled daily fluctuations in stream flow <br />and nearly-impossible navigation of the canyon floor <br />for distances greater than one mile, keep visitor use <br />low. Boating is extremely hazardous through the canyon <br />because of large boulder fields in the river bottom and <br />very dangerous rapids (in one stretch of a mile, the <br />river gradient is 500 feet per mile). Only a few <br />kayakers have traversed the river in the fall, <br />low-water season. Backcountry campsites at the end of <br />rim-to-floor routes provide for overnight camping on <br />the canyon floor. <br /> <br />4. Hydrology, Flooding, and Floodplains <br /> <br />The Gunnison River through the Black Canyon is <br />controlled by major impoundments upstream, one as near <br />as three miles from the monument boundary. Natural <br /> <br />8 <br />