After the boat ride on Gunnison river, we were ready to see both the South Rim and North Rim. The South Rim is the busy area of the park. We have found the many parks are large but 1/4 of them are situated in one area where many of the points of interest are. The below maps shows you how large the park is but only see access in one area.
Interesting information overall about the Black Canyon according to the National Park website.
The Black Canyon is incredibly deep and sheer, with plunging cliffs, soaring buttresses and a thundering river. The following lists will help you understand the physical size of the canyon in comparison to other canyons and man-made structures.
| Greatest Depth: | Warner Point Chasm View Gunnison Point |
2,722 feet (829 m) 1,820 feet (555 m) 1,840 feet (561 m) |
| Narrowest Width: | At the rim (Chasm View) At the river (The Narrows) |
1,100 feet (335 m) 40 feet (12 m) |
| Total Lenth of Black Canyon: |
Total Length Length in National Park |
48 miles (77 km) 14 miles (22.5 km) |
This map is a blow up of the section where you can actual visit the park. The Red Line is the South Rim road which this post is about. The South Rim is more slopped then the North Side due to the sun drying out the area.
The first view was from the Oak Flat Trail hike which was two miles round trip. Some steep climbing both up and down but some great views along the way.
After that was the Rim Rock Trail, which was a 1.5 mile hike.
Then the Chasm View which has a 2,000 foot drop.
Of course, one of the most photographic areas of this park is the Painted Wall. It is the tallest sheer cliff in Colorado at 2,250 feet (690 m). Lighter-colored pegmatite dikes are clearly visible. A pegmatite is a holocrystalline, intrusive igneous rock composed of interlocking phaneritic crystals usually larger than 2.5 cm in size (1 inch). Again it is amazing what nature does.
PAINTED WALL COMPARED TO MAN-MADE STRUCTURES
The Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. From river to rim it stands 2250 feet (685 meters).
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1. Great Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt 2. Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. 3. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France 4. Empire State Building, New York, New York |
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5. Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), Chicago, Illinois 6. Tokyo Sky Tree, Tokyo, Japan 7. Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
Then off to the Sunset View. Unfortunately, we were not there for sunset but the views were great.
After looking at the South Rim, we headed to the many Dams that are on the Gunnison River. This is the Gunnison Tunnel and Diversion Dam. This tunnel was built to provide water from the river to Montrose, CO. “The Gunnison Tunnel is an irrigation tunnel constructed between 1905 and 1909 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Montrose County, Colorado. The 5.8 mile long tunnel diverts water from the Gunnison River to the arid Uncompahgre Valley around Montrose, Colorado.” Read more about it at the Wiki link.
This is the original Tunnel building with the dam waterfall.
From there we headed to Morrow Point Lake Dam.
Now to recover so we can go to the North Rim tomorrow. Look for Post #4.
