Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

San Angelo, TX, Library

    When most canyons are formed they are V-shaped -- like the Feather River in California or parts of the Snake River along the Idaho/Washington border. But if they've undergone glaciation, they become U-shaped -- like the Merced River in Yosemite Valley. But's there's one river which is neither V- or U-shapped; the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River in Colorado is I-shaped! [These photos were taken on 15 Aug 2013.]

 

 

 

    You'll note that you cannot see the river in either of these first two photos. One reason is the deepness of the canyon (2772' at Warner Point). And the lack of sunlight is why it's known as the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

 

 

 

 

 

    As the park brochure states, "in just 48 miles in Black Canyon the Gunnison River loses more elevation than the 1,500-mile Mississipi River from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The river drops an average of 96 feet/mile over the 14 miles inside the park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    One of the few spots where the sunlight illuminates the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Don't lean over too far when taking this photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Wonder if Evel Knevel ever considered jumping this canyon?

 

 

 

 

    This section of the river looks so docile that one wonders if it's still the Gunnison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Doubt that many fishermen have fished these holes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Though I was shooting into the sun, here's a view of the Painted Wall, at 2300' it is apparently the highest cliff in Colorado.
    Met an Italian couple, Diego & Tiziana, though I believe they both have been living, perhaps on opposite coasts, in the U.S. for at least a couple of years. Since I'm Irish and my two sisters married three Italians, we talked for quite a while.

 

 

 

 

 

    A plaque which points out that if the Empire State building were placed on the bottom of the canyon, it would not reach half-way up the Painted Wall.

 

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Links:

• National Park Service web pages on Black Canyon of the Gunnison
• Wikipedia article on Black Canyon
• Trip Advisor Photos of Black Canyon

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