Lighthouse hoodoo in Palo Duro canyon

Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment in the Panhandle of Texas (USA). As the second largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly 120 miles long and has an average width of 6 miles, but reaches a width of 20 miles at places. Its maximum depth is 800 feet. Palo Duro Canyon has been called "The Grand Canyon of Texas," both for its size and for the dramatic geological features, including the multicolored layers of rock and steep mesa walls which are similar to those in the Grand Canyon. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 413 KB) Summary Photo taken by submitter Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 413 KB) Summary Photo taken by submitter Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Grand Canyon, Arizona canyon, or gorge, is a valley walled by cliffs. ... The Caprock Escarpment is a geographical transition point in Texas (USA) between the High Plains/Llano Estacado to the west and the North Central Plains to the east. ... The Texas Panhandle is a region of the state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq. ... Several mesas near Los Alamos, New Mexico. ... For other Grand Canyons see Grand Canyon (disambiguation). ...

The canyon was formed by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River which winds along the relatively flat Caprock of West Texas. Water erosion over the millennia has been aided by wind erosion to shape the canyon's geological formations. The Red River is one of several rivers with that name, and of two rivers with that name in the United States. ... The Red River is one of several rivers with that name, and of two rivers with that name in the United States. ... The Caprock is a region in the Panhandle of Texas (USA). ... West Texas is a region in Texas which has more in common geographically with the Southwestern United States than it does with East Texas and North Texas. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and other particles) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ...

Notable canyon formations include caves and hoodoos. Alternate meanings: Cave (disambiguation) The outside world viewed from a cave A cave is a natural underground void. ... Hoodoos East of Drumheller, Alberta Photo: G Larson Hoodoos are tall thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins and badlands. ...

History

The first evidence of human habitation of the canyon dates back approximately 10,000–15,000 years, and it is believed to have been continuously inhabited to the present day. Native Americans were attracted to the water of the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, as well as the consequent ample game, edible plants, and protection from weather that the canyon provided. An Atsina named Assiniboin Boy Photo by Edward S. Curtis. ...

The first European explorers to discover the canyon were members of the Coronado expedition, who visited the canyon in 1541. Apache people lived in Palo Duro at the time, but they were later displaced by Comanche and Kiowa groups, who had the advantage of owning horses brought over by the Spanish. They had contact with traders in nearby New Mexico, called Comancheros. Coronado Sets Out to the North, by Frederic Remington, 1861-1909 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (ca. ... Events The first official translation of the entire Bible in Swedish February 12 - Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago de Chile. ... This article is about the Native American tribe, for other uses of the word see Apache (disambiguation). ... Comanche territory. ... The Kiowa are a nation of Native Americans who lived mostly in the plains of west Texas, Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico at the time of the arrival of Europeans. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 nugget For other uses, see Horse (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) None; English and Spanish de facto Capital Largest city Santa Fe Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq. ... The Comancheros were natives of northern and central New Mexico who conducted trade for a living with the nomadic plains tribes, often at designated areas. ...

A United States military team under Captain Randolph B. Marcy mapped the canyon in 1852 during their search for the headwaters of the Red River. The land remained under Native American control until a military expedition led by Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie was sent in 1874 to remove the Natives to reservations in Oklahoma. In a lucky coup, the Mackenzie expedition was able to capture thousands of the Natives' horses and destroy them in nearby Tule Canyon. Demoralized and denied their main weapon and source of livelihood, the Comanche and Kiowa conceded and left the area. Captain is both a nautical term and a rank in various uniformed organizations. ... Randolph Barnes Marcy (April 9, 1812 - November 22, 1887) was a career officer in the United States Army, achieving the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in 1881. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... Ranald Slidell Mackenzie (July 27, 1840 – January 19, 1889) was called the most promising young officer in the entire Union army. ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Soon after, in 1876, Charles Goodnight established the JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon. Over the next half century, the canyon remained in private hands, but was an increasingly popular tourist spot for local residents. In 1934, the upper section of the canyon was purchased by the State of Texas and turned into the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Amarillo is the largest city adjacent to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Charles Goodnight Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836 – December 12, 1929) was a cattle rancher in the American West. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Amarillo is a city located in Texas, USA and is part of the West Texas region. ...

Geology

Palo Duro Canyon itself was downcut by the Prarie Dog Town Fork of the Red River during the Pleistocene, when the whole region was uplifted. (Spearing 381) Most of the strata visible in the Canyon were deposited during the Permian and Triassic periods. From oldest to youngest, the formations are as follows: Erosional downcutting by the San Juan River in Utah. ... The Pleistocene epoch (pronounced like ply-stow-seen) is part of the geologic timescale. ... The Permian is a geologic period that extends from about 299. ... The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 245 to 202 Ma (million years ago). ...

• Quartermaster Formation: Permian in age, this comprises the red, lower slopes of the Canyon. This layer was deposited in a shallow marine environment that alternated with dry tidal flats, indicated by ripple marks and gypsum evaporite deposits, respectively. (Spearing 377, 383)

• Tecovas Formation: Part of the Dockum Group with the Trujillo Formation, this multicolored Triassic unit consists of shale, siltstone, and sandstone. Deposited in streams and swamps, its colors indicate varying oxidizing conditions, and the alternating dry / wet cycles typical of such environments. These rocks are fossiliferous, containing the remains of phytosaurs, amphibians, and fish. (Spearing 384-5)

• Trujillo Formation: This Triassic formation is harder than the underlying Tecovas, and forms many of the Canyon's ledges. Composed of coarse sandstone, river cross-bedding indicates deposition in a stream environment. Fossils are rare. (Spearing 384-5)

• Ogallala Formation: This late Miocene to early Pliocene unit forms the cliffs and ledges at the very top of the Canyon. Comprised of sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate eroded from a late Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains, it is separated from the lower Trujillo Formation by a disconformity, and a very long hiatus. Fossils of saber-toothed cats (Smilodon), bone-crushing dogs ( Borophagines), mastodons, horses, long-necked camels (Aepycamelus), rhinoceroses, and tortoises are present in the Ogallala. (Spearing 355-6, 385)

See also: Ogallala Aquifer Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. // Chemical structure Heating gypsum to between 100°C and 150°C (302°F) partially dehydrates the mineral by driving off exactly 75% of the water contained in its chemical structure. ... Evaporites are water-soluble, mineral sediments that result from the evaporation of saline water. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ... Categories: Stub | Sedimentary rocks ... Sandstone near Stadtroda, Germany Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ... Phytosaurs - family Phytosauridae or Parasuchidae - were a group of large (2 to 12 meters long - average size 3 to 4 meters) semi-aquatic predatory thecodonts that flourished during the Late Triassic period. ... For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ... Orders See text. ... The Miocene epoch is a period of time that extends from about 23 to 5. ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... A conglomerate with iron oxide cementing material A conglomerate is a rock consisting of other stones that have been cemented together. ... The Cenozoic Era (sen-oh-ZOH-ik; sometimes Caenozoic Era in the United Kingdom) meaning new life (Greek kainos = new + zoe = life) is the most recent of the three classic geological eras. ... White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada Longs Peak of the Rocky Mountains as depicted on the Colorado state quarter The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... A disconformity is an erosional channel in which the sedimentary rock layers above and below the erosional surface are parallel. ... Look up hiatus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Species Smilodon californicus Smilodon fatalis Smilodon gracilis Smilodon populator Smilodon (Greek: Knife-Tooth) is an extinct genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that are understood to have lived between approximately 3 million to 10,000 years ago in North and South America. ... Borophagines are extinct canids of the subfamily Borophaginae, which flourished in North America from the Miocene through the Pliocene epochs. ... For other uses of the word see Mastodon (disambiguation) A Mastodon skeleton at the Cinncinnati Natural History Museum. ... horse, see Horse (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... Species Aepycamelus alexandrae Aepycamelus bradyi Aepycamelus elrodi Aepycamelus giraffinus Aepycamelus latus Aepycamelus major Aepycamelus priscus Aepycamelus proceras Aepycamelus robustus Aepycamelus stocki Aepycamelus is an extinct species of camel, formerly called Alticamelus in scientific literature. ... Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct)Elasmotherium (extinct) The rhinoceros (commonly called rhino for short) is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. ... For the band, see Tortoise (band). ... The Ogallala aquifer underlies portions of eight states. ...

Reference

• Spearing, Darwin. Roadside Geology of Texas. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Co., 1991. ISBN 087842265X

See also

• Battle of Palo Duro Canyon

• Geology of Texas

The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon was a significant U.S. victory that brought about the end of the Red River War. ... Being near the center of the North American craton, the geology of Texas is relatively straightforward. ...

External links

• Palo Duro Canyon State Park official website
• Texas Parks and Wildlife: Palo Duro Canyon
• Read Exploration of the Red River, by Randolph Marcy, 1852, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Handbook of Texas Online: Palo Duro Canyon
• Permo-Triassic Redbeds