We
visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison a couple of summers ago and recalled
how it's depth and beauty had come as a surprise to us. After all, we live
in the southwest where slot canyons are common. Sections of the Zion Narrows,
for instance, are 3,000 feet deep and 16 FEET across. On the other end of
the spectrum, we also live near the Grand Canyon which is 5,000 feet deep
and 10 MILES across. At it's narrowest point, the Grand Canyon of the Gunnison
is "only" 2,000 feet deep and 1,600 feet
across. Yet the view from the rim takes your
breath away! And standing near the edge, even
at the shallow sections makes you light headed.
The Black Canyon is approximately 40 miles long. It's interesting to note that the Gunnison river drops farther over that distance than the Mississippi does over it's entire 1,000 mile length! The upper and lower stretches of the canyon are beautiful but not as spectacular as the deepest, narrowest center section. There are no falls on the river; just a series of mostly un-runnable rapids. The upper stretch of river has been dammed for water storage and flood control. The next time we come, we'll try to find a way to get our kayaks down and try to paddle in the pools behind the lower dam.
There's an interesting story behind the damming of the river for water storage. It seems that the Gunnison River has chosen to flow across some of the hardest rock on the planet. Even with it's steep grade and high water flow, the river is only eroding downward at the rate of one INCH every 100 years; that's less than the width of a human hair annually. Meanwhile, the surrounding land to the north and south has been eroding much faster. The river at the bottom of that deep canyon is now HIGHER than the farmlands around it! At the turn of the last century a tunnel was drilled through the canyon walls to let the water flow down hill and irrigate the local farmland.
Home Page
