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Blanco Canyon

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Blanco Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Texas . Eroded by the White River into the Caprock Escarpment on the east side of the Llano Estacado , the canyon runs for 34 miles (55 km) in a southeasterly direction, gradually widening from its beginning in southwestern Floyd County to 10 miles (16 km) across at its mouth in southeastern Crosby County . It also gradually deepens from 50 feet (15 m) at its beginning to 300 to 500 feet (91 to 150 m) at its mouth. One side canyon, 5-mile long Crawfish Canyon, was cut by Crawfish Creek as it feeds into the White River from the west.

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11-488: Blanco Canyon is one of several canyons that have been cut by rivers into the east face of the Llano Estacado, including Yellow House Canyon , Tule Canyon, and Palo Duro Canyon . The canyon was long suspected, but only confirmed in the 1990s, of having been used as a campsite by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his army twice in spring of 1541 while on his El Dorado expedition. The water and timber afforded by

22-484: A distance resembled houses with open doors." Within the city limits of Lubbock, Yellow House Canyon remains a narrow and shallow channel with a typical width of less than 0.5 km (0.31 mi) and a typical depth of not more than 20 m (66 ft). Here, the city of Lubbock has constructed a series of small dams that form a series of narrow lakes, collectively known as Canyon Lakes. The Canyon Lakes park offers conservation areas and recreational opportunities on

33-531: Is crossed north-to-south by U.S. Highway 62 near the canyon's beginning, and east-to-west by Farm to Market Road 193 and U.S. Highway 82 , the latter being near the canyon's mouth. Where U.S. 82 crosses the White River, a roadside park with facilities and hiking trails has been built. Yellow House Canyon Yellow House Canyon is about 32 km (20 mi) long, heading in Lubbock, Texas , at

44-638: The North Fork crosses Texas Farm to Market Road 400 , the canyon is nearly 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and 60 m (200 ft) deep. Further downstream, near the confluence of Plum Creek and the North Fork, the walls of the canyon begin to curve sharply outward as the North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River flows out of the canyon and onto the rolling plains of West Texas. Ransom Canyon, Texas Too Many Requests If you report this error to

55-400: The White River and the trees growing along its banks would have provided an ideal campsite in the 16th century. Indeed, although the river is mostly dry now due to pumping , local anecdotes maintain that fishing was possible in the river until the mid-20th century. The canyon valley still appears fertile, and cottonwood trees line the creek bed. It was on October 10, 1871, also the site of

66-627: The area. In 1948, the District Nine of the Caprock-Plains Baptist churches established the Plains Baptist Assembly in the canyon as a recreational retreat for area churches. By 1986, the site encompassed 160 acres (0.65 km) and 65 buildings. Today, it runs year-round and features facilities for camps, retreats, and conferences. Floydada 's country club is also located in the canyon. The canyon

77-631: The junction of Blackwater Draw and Yellow House Draw , and trending generally southeastward to the edge of the Llano Estacado about 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Slaton, Texas ; it forms one of three major canyons along the east side of the Llano Estacado and carries the waters of the North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River . The name has an XIT Ranch heritage, according to Gary and Margaret Kraisinger, in that "the yellow cliffs which from

88-677: The main skirmish of Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie 's initial campaign against the Plains Comanches , known as the Battle of Blanco Canyon . On this same campaign, Mackenzie established a supply camp named Anderson's Fort on a curved ridge a short distance southeast of the canyon mouth; it is now on the National Register of Historic Places . Shortly thereafter, once the Plains Indians had been forced onto reservations ,

99-474: The nearby site of Mount Blanco on the east rim of the canyon was established in 1877 by Henry Clay Smith and his wife, the former Elizabeth Boyle, as the first permanent white settlement on the West Texas plains , and the first post office west of Fort Griffin . Early settlers were attracted to the site for the same reason as Coronado had been - the ready supply of wood and water, which were rarities in

110-400: The water and in the narrow park along the water's edge. As Yellow House Canyon extends outside the city limits of Lubbock, the canyon gradually widens and deepens. Around 15 km (9.3 mi) to the east-southeast of Lubbock, a dam was constructed to form Buffalo Springs Lake , a recreational lake that now inundates the site of the main springs, though the springs continue to flow beneath

121-427: The waters of the lake. Immediately downstream of Buffalo Springs Lake is a much smaller dam that forms another recreational lake named Lake Ransom Canyon, where numerous single-family homes surround the lake to form the community of Ransom Canyon, Texas . Downstream of Ransom Canyon, the North Fork is finally allowed to flow freely across sparsely populated ranchland as the canyon continues to deepen and widen. Where

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