BGuthrie Photos: CO -- Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl Park

CO -- Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl Park:

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[20] BCAN_060531_147.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?) $The Shaping of the Canyon: Swift water of the Gunnison River and abrasion from the sediment it carried are the chief cutting tools in the deepening of Black Canyon, but there are other forces important to the carving of the canyon. Moisture entering joints and fractures promotes weathering. As the fractures slowly widen, large rock masses are gradually weakened to the point where they slide or tumble to the canyon floor. Look up the canyon to your right. The south rim (to your right) has eroded back farther than the north (to your left). The south rim faces north so it does not receive as much sun and does not dry out as quickly as the north rim. Since moisture is an important factor in erosion, a moist slope will tend to erode at a faster rate than a dry slope. Thus, the canyon rims are gradually worn away. What the river can't carry away accumulates as steep piles of talus against the canyon walls or created rapids in the river. This carving process has been slowed by the construction of dams upstream. These dams hold back most of the sediment and most of the peak spring run-off, both of which are necessary for the river to deepen its bed effectively and carry off material eroded from the canyon walls. It took about 2 million years to shape the canyon as you see it today. If you could come back in another 2 million years, what do you think Black Canyon would look like?$	[21] BCAN_060531_154.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[22] BCAN_060531_167.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[23] BCAN_060531_174.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[24] BCAN_060531_178.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[25] BCAN_060531_191.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[26] BCAN_060531_202.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[27] BCAN_060531_206.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[28] BCAN_060531_208.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[29] BCAN_060531_210.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?) $The Painted Wall: At 2,300 feet, Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. If the Empire State Building stood on the canyon floor, it would reach slightly more than halfway to the top of the cliff. The patterns that inspired the name Painted Wall were created more than a billion years ago when molten rock was squeezed (intruded) into fractures and joints in the existing rock, the cooled and hardened. Unlike a painting, these patterns are three-dimensional. If you were to slice off a section of a cliff, an entirely different pattern would be revealed.$	[30] BCAN_060531_213.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[31] BCAN_060531_228.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[32] BCAN_060531_236.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[33] BCAN_060531_251.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[34] BCAN_060531_255.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[35] BCAN_060531_265.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[36] BCAN_060531_268.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[37] BCAN_060531_287.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. BCAN_060531_026.JPG: The surveying equipment from Torrence and Fellows 1901 trip
2. BCAN_060531_046.JPG: Pegmatite dikes
3. BCAN_060531_048.JPG: Pegmatite Dikes: Over a billion years ago, molten rock was squeezed into fissures forming the light-colored bands which threat Black Canyon's otherwise dark walls. You are standing on one of these bands. As the hot fluid slowly cooled and hardened, minerals formed into crystals. Look closely; you may recognize flecks of mica, feldspar, quartz, and perhaps even garnet. These bands of lighter colored igneous rock -- called pegmatite dikes -- are more resistant to erosion than the dark gneisses (sounds like "nice-es") into which they intrude. Consequently, the pegmatite weathers more slowly than the gneiss. The vertical position of the hikes here, combined with their resistance to weathering, had produced the fin-like appearance of parts of the canyon walls. You will see pegmatite at nearly every overlook. The pegmatite dike you see across the canyon nearly half a mile away is the same one your are standing on! Imagine the relentless cutting power of the Gunnison River.
4. BCAN_060531_147.JPG: The Shaping of the Canyon: Swift water of the Gunnison River and abrasion from the sediment it carried are the chief cutting tools in the deepening of Black Canyon, but there are other forces important to the carving of the canyon. Moisture entering joints and fractures promotes weathering. As the fractures slowly widen, large rock masses are gradually weakened to the point where they slide or tumble to the canyon floor. Look up the canyon to your right. The south rim (to your right) has eroded back farther than the north (to your left). The south rim faces north so it does not receive as much sun and does not dry out as quickly as the north rim. Since moisture is an important factor in erosion, a moist slope will tend to erode at a faster rate than a dry slope. Thus, the canyon rims are gradually worn away. What the river can't carry away accumulates as steep piles of talus against the canyon walls or created rapids in the river. This carving process has been slowed by the construction of dams upstream. These dams hold back most of the sediment and most of the peak spring run-off, both of which are necessary for the river to deepen its bed effectively and carry off material eroded from the canyon walls. It took about 2 million years to shape the canyon as you see it today. If you could come back in another 2 million years, what do you think Black Canyon would look like?
5. BCAN_060531_210.JPG: The Painted Wall: At 2,300 feet, Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. If the Empire State Building stood on the canyon floor, it would reach slightly more than halfway to the top of the cliff. The patterns that inspired the name Painted Wall were created more than a billion years ago when molten rock was squeezed (intruded) into fractures and joints in the existing rock, the cooled and hardened. Unlike a painting, these patterns are three-dimensional. If you were to slice off a section of a cliff, an entirely different pattern would be revealed.
6. BCAN_060531_213.JPG: The painted wall
7. BCAN_060531_304.JPG: The Great Unconformity: Each layer of rock marks a span of geologic time. But often the layers representing certain spans of time are absent. Either nothing was being deposited at a given time or deposits were later eroded away and left no record of their presence. As a result, young rock may rest directly on very ancient rock. This area of contact between younger rocks and older rocks marks a gap in the geologic record. This area of contact is called an unconformity. The thin, light tan layer you see on the canyon rim is Entrada Sandstone, a mere 165 to 170 million years old. The rock immediately below it was formed in the Pre-Cambrian period and is about 1-3/4 billion years old, the oldest rocks in the canyon. More than a billion years is absent from the geologic record of Black Canyon!
8. BCAN_060531_305.JPG: The Gunnison Uplift: Have you noticed that you are standing on a broad elevated portion of the earth's crust? This is known as the Gunnison uplift. Perhaps it seems strange that the Gunnison River cuts through the heart of this uplift instead of following an easier course north of south of here. To understand this, we must think back to when the Gunnison uplift first formed. About 65 million years ago, a large sector of hard Pre-Cambrian rock, deeply buried by softer sediments, was thrust upward forming a bulge on the earth's surface. This newly formed Gunnison uplift and the Sawatch Range to the east were immediately attacked by erosion. Streams flowed to the north. As eons passed, the Sawatch Range was greatly eroded. Most of the soft sediments covering the Gunnison uplift were planed off, leaving a broad, flat plain over which streams meandered. Then, repeated volcanic eruptions deposited layers of rock. Mountainous piles of volcanic debris created what we know as the West Elk Mountains and the San Juan Mountains to the south. Drainage was diverted around the south side of the West Elk Mountains directly across the buried Gunnison uplift. Once the Gunnison River resumed downcutting, it became entrenched and could no longer alter its course, even though later erosion of the softer rocks to the north and south again exposed the Gunnison uplift. The result is Black Canyon as we see it today.
9. BCAN_060531_370.JPG: Pioneers: Have you noticed the multi-colored splotches on the rocks? Look closely -- they are not part of the rock, but tiny plants called lichens (sounds like "like-ens"). Only lichens and mosses can survive on bare rock. Lichens slowly corrode the rock surface thus providing anchorage for other plants. Mats of moss catch windblown and waterborne dust. Then, as insects and plants die, organic material is added. Almost imperceptibly, the creation of soil begins. Just as human pioneers pushing west to settle the land provided opportunities for those who followed, these plant pioneers set a dynamic stage for plant and animal communities. In this process called succession, each new species to take hold contributes to soil formation and enrichment. Subtle changes provide suitable habitat for a greater diversity of species. Greater diversity equals greater stability. Could this be true for human communities as well? The final stage of succession here at Black Canyon is the mature pinyon/pine juniper forest you see around you.
10. BCAN_060531_375.JPG: The Dwarf Forest: Why is this a pinyon pine/juniper forest and not something else? The kind of plants to be found in a community depend on soil and climate. Pinyon and juniper are best able to endure the harsh and climate and shallow soil of Black Canyon. The waxy leaves and thick sap of the juniper enable it to conserve moisture, as do the needles of the pinyon pine. Both are low-branched and compact allowing them to withstand drought and temperature extremes. The openness of the pinyon/juniper community allows many shrubby species such as mountain-mahogany, serviceberry, and gambel oak to thrive. In areas where moisture is available, such as north-facing slopes, Douglas fire will be found, although conditions are marginal. Berries, nuts, and acorns provide food for birds, squirrels, chipmunks and numerous other small mammals (humans too!) while the shrubs provide excellent browse for mule deer. Insects attracted by flowers, plants or mammals in turn become food for reptiles and birds. Reptiles, birds,and small mammals become food for bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, snakes and birds of prey. Black bears, occasionally seen in Black Canyon, are opportunists and will eat almost anything. For thousands of years, this type of community has flourished to provide food and shelter for countless inhabitants. Disruptions such as fire may change the balance and composition of the community, but the pinyon pine/juniper state will always return to dominance. The oldest living trees here are thought to be around 750 years old.
11. BCAN_060531_378.JPG: West Elk Mountains
12. BCAN_060531_427.JPG: There was a fire here a few years ago. It burned up much of the countryside.
13. BCAN_060531_441.JPG: The West Elk Mountains: The West Elk Mountains across the canyon were once active volcanoes, belching gasses and ash high into the atmosphere. Along with the ash came lava flows, and together the debris settled in layers over the land. Like the San Juan Mountains, the West Elks exploded for millions of years and piled thousands of feet of ash upon the region. With a liberal amount of time, the Gunnison River eroded away the ash and other underlying layers of rock. Two million years ago, the river began carving into the crystalline rock that makes up the walls of Black Canyon. Swollen by melting snow in springtime, and dwindling to a trickle in winter, the river carved age after age, into some of the hardest rock in North America.
14. BCAN_060531_562.JPG: Early Exploration: Standing here, it is difficult to imagine anyone trying to cross the canyon or navigate its waters. Like hikers today, the Utes and early explorers faced rigorous hardships. In 1900, William Torrence led a crew to explore the possibility of diverting Gunnison River water for farming. His first trip ended with the loss of most supplies and a difficult climb to the rim. Torrence set out the next year with A. Lincoln Fellows, with a rubber air mattress. The trip lasted nine days and was not without trouble." At the 'Narrows' the fun began. The Canyon is full of great boulders, which form bridges across the stream. Over these we must scramble, one getting on top and pulling the other up. We spent a day going a quarter of a mile. The walls are almost perpendicular in many places and some 2,000 feet or more to the top." The Gunnison Diversion Tunnel was completed in 1909, and still provides water to lands around Montrose. Today's river lacks a seasonal variation in water flow and the reduced river is diminished in its ability to sculpt the canyon.
15. BCAN_060531_563.JPG: Chasm View: Do you feel uneasy gazing into the canyon? The steep walls of Black Canyon range in depth from 2700 feet north of Warner Point to 1750 feet at the Narrows, a short distance upstream from here. The Narrows, between Pulpit Rocks and Chasm View, is the shallowest and narrowest section in the monument. Here the canyon is less than a quarter-mile across. The Gunnison River has a very steep gradient. Within the monument, the river has an average fall of 95 feet per mile. This gives the river the energy needed to cut downward faster than most other kinds of erosion can widen it. The words of an early surveyor reveal another view of this erosion: "Hereto was unfolded view after view of the most wonderful, the most thrilling of rock exposures, one vanishing from view only to be replaced by another still more imposing. A view which could easily be made into a Scottish Feudal Castle would be followed by another suggesting the wildest part of imposing height and majestic proportions..." - HC Wright, member of the 1882 Bryon Bryant railroad survey.
16. BCAN_060531_592.JPG: Gunnison Tunnel and Diversion Dam: Constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation 1904-1912 as part of the Uncompahgre Project. The Uncompahgre Project is one of America's first reclamation efforts. Drilling of the 5.8 mile long Gunnison Tunnel was a significant pioneering achievement. Operated and maintained by the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association.
17. BCAN_060531_598.JPG: Crystal Dam: Rising 227 feet above the streambed of the Gunnison River, Crystal Dam is a unique structure -- it curves from side to side and from top to bottom. This thin-arch, double-curvature design gives it exceptional strength. The free-form spillway is capable of releasing 42,000 cubic feet of water per second. Crystal Dam plus upstream Morrow Point and Blue Mesa Dams comprise the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project. Crystal serves as a regulating facility in this unit. Its six-mile long reservoir catches fluctuating releases from Morrow Point Dam and smooths out the flows in the Gunnison River. The powerplant at Crystal has one generating unit with a 31,000-kilowatt capacity. Crystal Dam and Reservoir, constructed and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation, are part of the Colorado River Storage Project, a complex multi-state water development system. Features are located throughout the Upper Colorado River Basin which includes parts of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The dams and reservoirs of the storage project are operated to provide water for irrigation, municipal and industrial use, hydroelectric power generation, recreation, fish and wildlife. Most of the costs of building and operating the various features of the storage project are paid by the water and power users. Construction was completed on this facility in 1978.
18. BCAN_060531_611.JPG: Gunnison Diversion Dam
19. BCAN_060531_623.JPG: Reading the Waters: The waters of the apparently placid river in front of you are deceptive. Due to a combination of forces and circumstances, water below the surface is moving at a greater pace. Water moves in layers, this is termed laminar flow. In any stream, a rocky channel bottom impedes the flow of water at the deepest point. Each successively higher layer encounters less resistance until maximum velocity is reached just below the surface. Here at East Portal, the velocity at lower layers is increased due to the funneling of water through the Gunnison River Diversion Tunnel. The 5.8 mile long tunnel and its diversion dam, completed in 1912, work together to provide water for irrigation in the Uncompahgre Valley to the south and west. At peak operation, water travels at 1000 cubic feet per second through the tunnel. This water is diverted from the layer below the surface creating dangerous undercurrents. Crystal Dam located upstream from this site, can also contribute to a strong current. The Bureau of Reclamation has commitments to meet minimum stream flows for wildlife and fisheries below the Gunnison Diversion Dam. In addition, when generating electricity at Crystal Powerplant, the flow can be increased causing additional current velocity at varying times.
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Wikipedia Description: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a United States National Park located in western Colorado, and managed by the National Park Service. There are two entrances to the park; the more-developed south rim entrance is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Montrose, while the north rim entrance is located 11 miles (18 km) south of Crawford and is closed in the winter. The park contains 12 miles of the 48 mile long canyon of the Gunnison river. The national park itself contains the deepest and most dramatic section of the canyon, but the canyon continues upstream into the Curecanti National Recreation Area and downstream into the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.

Geology:

The Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile (8 m/km) through the entire canyon, making it one of the steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile (1.4 m/km). The greatest descent of the Gunnison River occurs in the park at Chasm View dropping 240 feet per mile (45 m/km). The Black Canyon is so named on account of its steepness which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate very far down the canyon. As a result, the canyon walls are most often in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black. At its narrowest point the canyon is only 40 feet (12 meters) across at the river.

The extreme steepness and depth of the Black Canyon formed as the result of several geologic processes acting together. The Gunnison River is primarily responsible for carving the canyon, though several other geologic events had to occur in order to form the canyon as it is seen today.

Precambrian:

The Precambrian gneiss and schist that makes up the majority of the steep walls of the black canyon formed 1.7 billion years ago during a metamorphic period brought on by the collision of ancient volcanic island arc ...More...
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (CO -- Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl Park) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2003_CO_Black_Canyon: CO -- Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl Park (16 photos from 2003)
- 1971_CO_Black_Canyon: CO -- Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl Park (4 photos from 1971)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Natural Beauty] [Park (National Park Service)]
2006 photos: Trips this year: Florida (two separate trips including Lotusphere and taking care of mom), three weeks out west (including Yellowstone), Williamsburg, San Diego (comic book convention), and Georgia. Equipment this year: I was using all six Fuji cameras at various times -- an S602Zoom, two S7000s,a S5200, an S9000, and an S9100. The majority of pictures this year were taken with the S9000. I have to say, the S7000s was the best camera I've used up to this point.. Number of photos taken this year: 183,000.
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