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56-719: Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon . As one of the largest canyons in the United States , it is roughly 25–40 mi (40–64 km) long and has an average width of 6 mi (9.7 km), but reaches a width of 20 mi (32 km) at places. Its depth is around 800 ft (240 m), but in some locations, valley bottom to surrounding hills increases to 1,000 ft (300 m). Palo Duro Canyon (from

112-569: A form of mass wasting. A distinction is then made between mass wasting by subsidence, which involves little horizontal movement, and mass wasting by slope movement. Soil creep is a slow and long term mass movement. The combination of small movements of soil or rock in different directions over time is directed by gravity gradually downslope. The steeper the slope, the faster the creep. The creep makes trees and shrubs curve to maintain their perpendicularity, and they can trigger landslides if they lose their root footing. The surface soil can migrate under

168-443: A large mass of earth and rocks down a hill or a mountainside. Landslides can be further classified by the importance of water in the mass wasting process. In a narrow sense, landslides are rapid movement of large amounts of relatively dry debris down moderate to steep slopes. With increasing water content, the mass wasting takes the form of debris avalanches , then earthflows , then mudflows . Further increase in water content produces

224-832: A late Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains , and is separated from the lower Trujillo Formation by a disconformity , representing a long hiatus. The coarse, porous sedimentary units of the Ogallala Formation constitute the Ogallala Aquifer , which has historically functioned as a major source of drinking water for much of the High Plains . Fossils of saber-toothed cats ( Smilodon ), bone-crushing dogs ( Borophagus ), mastodons , horses , long-necked camels ( Aepycamelus ), rhinoceroses , and large tortoises up to 3 feet in length, are present in

280-598: A military expedition led by Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie was sent in 1874 to remove the Indians to reservations in Oklahoma . The Mackenzie expedition captured about 1,200 of the Indians' horses and slaughtered them in nearby Tule Canyon during the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon . The Comanche and Kiowa conceded and left the area. Soon after, in 1876, Charles Goodnight and a wealthy Ulster Scot named John Adair established

336-543: A process of long-time erosion from a plateau or table-land level. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion and weathering remain exposed on the valley walls. Canyons are much more common in arid areas than in wet areas because physical weathering has a more localized effect in arid zones. The wind and water from the river combine to erode and cut away less resistant materials such as shales . The freezing and expansion of water also serves to help form canyons. Water seeps into cracks between

392-685: A river or stream carves out such splits between mountains. Examples of mountain-type canyons are Provo Canyon in Utah or Yosemite Valley in California's Sierra Nevada . Canyons within mountains, or gorges that have an opening on only one side, are called box canyons. Slot canyons are very narrow canyons that often have smooth walls. Steep-sided valleys in the seabed of the continental slope are referred to as submarine canyons . Unlike canyons on land, submarine canyons are thought to be formed by turbidity currents and landslides . The word canyon

448-425: A sheetflood, which is a form of sheet erosion rather than mass wasting. On Earth , mass wasting occurs on both terrestrial and submarine slopes. Submarine mass wasting is particularly common along glaciated coastlines where glaciers are retreating and great quantities of sediments are being released. Submarine slides can transport huge volumes of sediments for hundreds of kilometers in a few hours. Mass wasting

504-559: A stream environment. Fossils are rare. The sandstone has alternating layers of shale and marl - pebble conglomerate . The formation is massively bedded sandstone, making a distinct contact with the underlying Tecovas Formation, forming cliffs, prominent benches and mesas within the canyon. The formation includes a basal, middle, and upper sandstone members , separated by shales. The middle sandstone member forms conspicuous ledges and cliffs. Phytosaur and Koskinonodon remains, plus leaf imprints and mineralized wood have been found within

560-417: A very muddy stream (stream erosion), without a sharp dividing line. Many forms of mass wasting are recognized, each with its own characteristic features, and taking place over timescales from seconds to hundreds of years. Based on how the soil, regolith or rock moves downslope as a whole, mass movements can be broadly classified as either creeps or landslides . Subsidence is sometimes also regarded as

616-431: Is rock glaciers , which form from rockfall from cliffs oversteepened by glaciers. Landslides can produce scarps and step-like small terraces. Landslide deposits are poorly sorted . Those rich in clay may show stretched clay lumps (a phenomenon called boudinage ) and zones of concentrated shear. Debris flow deposits take the form of long, narrow tracks of very poorly sorted material. These may have natural levees at

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672-575: Is Spanish in origin ( cañón , pronounced [kaˈɲon] ), with the same meaning. The word canyon is generally used in North America , while the words gorge and ravine (French in origin) are used in Europe and Oceania , though gorge and ravine are also used in some parts of North America. In the United States , place names generally use canyon in the southwest (due to their proximity to Spanish-speaking Mexico ) and gorge in

728-684: Is a common phenomenon throughout the Solar System, occurring where volatile materials are lost from a regolith . Such mass wasting has been observed on Mars , Io , Triton , and possibly Europa and Ganymede . Mass wasting also occurs in the equatorial regions of Mars, where stopes of soft sulfate -rich sediments are steepened by wind erosion. Mass wasting on Venus is associated with the rugged terrain of tesserae . Io shows extensive mass wasting of its volcanic mountains. Mass wasting affects geomorphology , most often in subtle, small-scale ways, but occasionally more spectacularly. Soil creep

784-419: Is a general term for any process of erosion that is driven by gravity and in which the transported soil and rock is not entrained in a moving medium, such as water, wind, or ice. The presence of water usually aids mass wasting, but the water is not abundant enough to be regarded as a transporting medium. Thus, the distinction between mass wasting and stream erosion lies between a mudflow (mass wasting) and

840-631: Is a general term for the movement of rock or soil down slopes under the force of gravity . It differs from other processes of erosion in that the debris transported by mass wasting is not entrained in a moving medium, such as water, wind, or ice. Types of mass wasting include creep , solifluction , rockfalls , debris flows , and landslides , each with its own characteristic features, and taking place over timescales from seconds to hundreds of years. Mass wasting occurs on both terrestrial and submarine slopes, and has been observed on Earth , Mars , Venus , Jupiter's moon Io , and on many other bodies in

896-402: Is a small canyon that is generally shorter and narrower than a river canyon, with steep walls on three sides, allowing access and egress only through the mouth of the canyon. Box canyons were frequently used in the western United States as convenient corrals, with their entrances fenced. The definition of "largest canyon" is imprecise, because a canyon can be large by its depth, its length, or

952-694: Is believed to be the longest canyon in the world. Despite not being quite as deep or long as the Grand Canyon, the Capertee Valley in Australia is actually 1 km wider than the Grand Canyon, making it the widest canyon in the world. Some canyons have notable cultural significance. Evidence of archaic humans has been discovered in Africa's Olduvai Gorge . In the southwestern United States, canyons are important archeologically because of

1008-619: Is dedicated to the formation. Palo Duro Canyon was downcut by the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River during the Pleistocene , when the whole region was uplifted. Most of the strata visible in the canyon were deposited during the Permian and Triassic periods. From oldest to youngest, and each separated by an unconformity , the formations are: The Quartermaster Formation is Permian in age, and forms

1064-624: Is part of the Texas State Parks system under Texas Parks and Wildlife. Day entry into the park is covered by the Texas Parks Pass. Palo Duro Canyon hosts several activities throughout the park. There are 16 trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, ranging in length from .05 miles to 4.4 miles. There are options for camping, with sites for tents with water access and RV campers alike. There are also sites for keeping horses available to campers planning to horseback ride in

1120-456: Is rarely apparent but can produce such subtle effects as curved forest growth and tilted fences and telephone poles. It occasionally produces low scarps and shallow depressions. Solifluction produced lobed or sheetlike deposits, with fairly definite edges, in which clasts (rock fragments) are oriented perpendicular to the contours of the deposit. Rockfall can produce talus slopes at the feet of cliffs. A more dramatic manifestation of rockfall

1176-539: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the park from 1933 until 1937. Companies 1821, 1823 and 1824 made up of military veterans, companies 2875 and 2876 made up of African Americans, and company 894, a junior group of young men 17 to 25, took part in various construction projects, starting with the construction of Park Road 5, a two-lane road from the rim to the floor of the canyon. The workers used dynamite to blast away difficult areas for

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1232-629: The Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal accounted for 55,860,400 cubic meters (73,062,600 cu yd) of the 128,648,530 cubic meters (168,265,924 cu yd) of material removed while excavating the cut. Rockslides or landslides can have disastrous consequences, both immediate and delayed. The Oso disaster of March 2014 was a landslide that caused 43 fatalities in Oso, Washington , US. Delayed consequences of landslides can arise from

1288-544: The JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon. Col. Goodnight helped manage the ranch until 1890. Over the next half century, the canyon remained in private hands but was an increasingly popular tourist spot for residents. Charles N. Gould made a geologic map of the canyon and named the formations in 1905. In 1931, a major landowner signed a two-year contract with the local chamber of commerce to allow public access to

1344-681: The New 7 Wonders of Nature worldwide poll. (Some referred to it as one of the seven natural wonders of the world .) The largest canyon in Europe is Tara River Canyon . The largest canyon in Africa is the Fish River Canyon in Namibia . In August 2013, the discovery of Greenland 's Grand Canyon was reported, based on the analysis of data from Operation IceBridge . It is located under an ice sheet. At 750 kilometres (470 mi) long, it

1400-736: The Solar System . Subsidence is sometimes regarded as a form of mass wasting. A distinction is then made between mass wasting by subsidence, which involves little horizontal movement, and mass wasting by slope movement . Rapid mass wasting events, such as landslides, can be deadly and destructive. More gradual mass wasting, such as soil creep, poses challenges to civil engineering , as creep can deform roadways and structures and break pipelines. Mitigation methods include slope stabilization , construction of walls, catchment dams, or other structures to contain rockfall or debris flows, afforestation , or improved drainage of source areas. Mass wasting

1456-734: The Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet , is regarded by some as the deepest canyon on Earth at 5,500 metres (18,000 ft). It is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon in the United States. Others consider the Kali Gandaki Gorge in midwest Nepal to be the deepest canyon, with a 6,400-metre (21,000 ft) difference between the level of the river and the peaks surrounding it. Vying for the deepest canyon in

1512-538: The Americas is the Cotahuasi Canyon and Colca Canyon , in southern Peru. Both have been measured at over 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) deep. The Grand Canyon of northern Arizona in the United States, with an average depth of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and a volume of 4.17 trillion cubic metres (147 trillion cubic feet), is one of the world's largest canyons. It was among the 28 finalists of

1568-541: The Ogallala. The siltstone and sandstone have been cemented by silica, which gives rise to the occurrence of common opal and almost- chert pockets. The upper portion of the formation has thick deposits of caliche , very evident at the Coronado Lodge on the northwest rim of the canyon. Fortress Cliff, on the eastern rim of the canyon, has a spectacular exposure of the Ogallala Formation. Headward erosion by

1624-643: The Palo Duro Canyon State Park's Pioneer Amphitheatre, with James Setapen conducting the Amarillo Symphony (which had commissioned the work). The composer writes: "I wanted the piece ... to conjure up an intuitive awareness of the long movements of time required for the creation of a canyon. I also wanted in some way to pay homage to Native Americans, to whom this canyon was a sacred place. And I wanted to capture in music that magical moment which everyone experiences when they first see

1680-627: The Prairie Dog Town fork of the Red River, into the caprock escarpment of the Llano Estacado , caused differential erosion. This meant the more resistant Ogallala and Trujillo formations formed the steeper walls of the canyon. The first evidence of human habitation of the canyon dates back about 10,000–15,000 years, and it is believed to have been continuously inhabited to the present day. Native Americans were attracted to

1736-577: The Spanish meaning "hard stick") has been named "The Grand Canyon of Texas" both for its size and for its dramatic geological features, including the multicolored layers of rock and steep mesa walls, which are similar to those in the Grand Canyon . It is part of Palo Duro Canyon State Park . The State Park had 442,242 visitors in 2022. The canyon was formed by the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River , which initially winds along

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1792-530: The Tecovas Formation shales, all capped by the weather-resistant Trujillo Formation sandstone. Large blocks of this sandstone, due to mass wasting , are found along the flanks and base of the peak. The Trujillo Formation is a Triassic formation that is harder than the underlying Tecovas and forms many of the Canyon's ledges. Composed of coarse sandstone, river cross-bedding indicates deposition in

1848-513: The Texas Panhandle region. The spectacle, created by playwright Paul Eliot Green , premiered on July 1, 1966, at the newly constructed Pioneer Amphitheatre in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It has continued each summer through the present, making Texas "the best-attended outdoor history drama in the nation." American composer Samuel Jones 's Symphony No. 3 is titled "Palo Duro Canyon." It premiered May 1, 1992, in an outdoor performance at

1904-822: The United States, the Colorado River in the Southwest and the Snake River in the Northwest are two examples of tectonic uplift . Canyons often form in areas of limestone rock. As limestone is soluble to a certain extent, cave systems form in the rock. When a cave system collapses, a canyon is left, as in the Mendip Hills in Somerset and Yorkshire Dales in Yorkshire , England. A box canyon

1960-485: The advantage of owning horses brought over by the Spanish. The Mescalero Apache refer to the canyon as Nił'e'agutel or "canyon in the plains." They had contact with traders, called Comancheros , in nearby New Mexico . 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 American Indian control until

2016-537: The alternating dry/wet cycles typical of such environments. These rocks are fossiliferous, containing the remains of phytosaurs , amphibians , and fish , including Metoposaurus , Desmatosuchus , Koskinonodon , and lungfish , besides coprolites and the petrified wood remains of Araucarioxylon . Septarian calcite concretions and calcite geodes are numerous, and the shale forms the less steep canyon walls covered by talus slopes. A prominent band of jointed white sandstone about 15 ft (5 m) thick marks

2072-455: The canyon. In addition, lodging cabins are available for rent that sit on the outer rim of the canyon, providing an impressive view of both the canyon and the sunrise. Group sites and spaces are available for group retreats, youth groups, and weddings. The Mack Dick Pavilion is a popular location for weddings and receptions, as the canyon provides a beautiful backdrop. The painter Georgia O'Keeffe , who lived in nearby Amarillo and Canyon in

2128-530: The canyon. The upper section of the canyon was purchased by the State of Texas in 1934 and turned into the 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Amarillo is the largest city near Palo Duro Canyon State Park, but the smaller city of Canyon is nearer. In 1976, Palo Duro Canyon State Park was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. Seven companies of

2184-506: The early 20th century, wrote of the Palo Duro: "It is a burning, seething cauldron, filled with dramatic light and color." She made paintings of Palo Duro Canyon between 1916 and 1918, when she was an instructor and head of the art department at West Texas State Normal College . Palo Duro Canyon is the site of an outdoor historical and musical drama, titled Texas , presented annually each summer by actors, singers, dancers, and artists of

2240-470: The flat, treeless High Plains fall dizzyingly away into the colorful vastness of the Palo Duro Canyon itself." A KACV-TV documentary on the canyon, composer, and symphony, titled And There Will Be Sounds, was broadcast on PBS stations nationally later that year; and a commercial recording was subsequently released by the Seattle Symphony under the baton of Gerard Schwarz . A second recording

2296-706: The formation of landslide dams , as at Thistle, Utah , in April 1983. Volcano flanks can become over-steep resulting in instability and mass wasting. This is now a recognised part of the growth of all active volcanoes. It is seen on submarine volcanoes as well as surface volcanoes: Kamaʻehuakanaloa (formerly Loihi) in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain and Kick 'em Jenny in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc are two submarine volcanoes that are known to undergo mass wasting. The failure of

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2352-582: The formation. Erosion-resistant sandstones protect pedestals of underlying shale, giving rise to hoodoos, including the Lighthouse, and the hoodoo at the south end of Capitol Peak. Likewise, the Rock Garden is composed of Trujillo sandstone boulders . The Ogallala Formation is a late Miocene to early Pliocene unit which forms the cliffs and ledges at the very top of the canyon. It is composed of sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate eroded from

2408-455: The influence of cycles of freezing and thawing, or hot and cold temperatures, inching its way towards the bottom of the slope forming terracettes . Landslides are often preceded by soil creep accompanied with soil sloughing —loose soil that falls and accumulates at the base of the steepest creep sections. Solifluction is a form of creep characteristics of arctic or alpine climates. It takes place in soil saturated with moisture that thaws during

2464-484: The level surface of the Llano Estacado of West Texas , then suddenly and dramatically runs off the Caprock Escarpment . Water erosion over the millennia has shaped the canyon's geological formations. Notable canyon formations include caves and hoodoos . One of the best-known and the major signature feature of the canyon is the Lighthouse Rock. A multiple-use, 6 mi (10 km) round-trip loop trail

2520-480: The many cliff-dwellings built in such areas, largely by the ancient Pueblo people who were their first inhabitants. The following list contains only the most notable canyons of the world, grouped by region. Venus has many craters and canyons on its surface. The troughs on the planet are part of a system of canyons that is more than 6,400 km long. [REDACTED] Environment portal Mass wasting Mass wasting , also known as mass movement ,

2576-485: The middle of this 200 ft (60 m) formation. Lavender, gray and white shales lie below this sandstone, while an orange shale lies between this sandstone and the Trujillo Formation above. The Quartermaster and Tecovas Formations make up Capital Peak. Likewise, the lower third of Triassic Peak is composed of the deeply furrowed Quartermaster Formation, overlain by the gentle slopes and smooth surface of

2632-753: The northeast (which is closer to French Canada ), with the rest of the country graduating between these two according to geography. In Canada , a gorge is usually narrow while a ravine is more open and often wooded. The military-derived word defile is occasionally used in the United Kingdom . In South Africa, kloof (in Krantzkloof Nature Reserve ) is used along with canyon (as in Blyde River Canyon ) and gorge (in Oribi Gorge ). Most canyons were formed by

2688-543: The red, lower slopes of the Canyon. This layer was deposited in a near-shore shallow-marine environment consisting of siltstones and shales with ripple marks and cross bedding , that alternated with dry tidal flats indicated by satin spar gypsum and halite cast evaporite deposits. The red color indicates periods of oxidation. The Quartermaster Formation forms the lower wall and canyon floor, averaging 60 ft (20 m) in thickness where it outcrops . In particular, this alternating red and white formation forms

2744-460: The road, but most work was done with hand tools such as pickaxes , shovels and wheelbarrows . Other CCC projects included the headquarters building, culverts , low-water crossings, bridges, Spring House, Well House, the Coronado Lodge interpretive center, 4 overnight cabins known as Cow Camp, and the 3 rim cabins. In addition, picnic and camping areas were built, complete with tables, seats, fireplaces, and garbage receptacles. Palo Duro Canyon

2800-405: The rocks and freezes, pushing the rocks apart and eventually causing large chunks to break off the canyon walls, in a process known as frost wedging. Canyon walls are often formed of resistant sandstones or granite . Sometimes large rivers run through canyons as the result of gradual geological uplift. These are called entrenched rivers , because they are unable to easily alter their course. In

2856-573: The sides of the tracks, and sometimes consist of lenses of rock fragments alternating with lenses of fine-grained earthy material. Debris flows often form much of the upper slopes of alluvial fans . Triggers for mass wasting can be divided into passive and activating (initiating) causes. Passive causes include: Activating causes include: Mass wasting causes problems for civil engineering , particularly highway construction . It can displace roads, buildings, and other construction and can break pipelines. Historically, mitigation of landslide hazards on

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2912-527: The steep and gullied lower portion of the north flank of Timber Mesa, with the maroon and lavender smooth slopes of the Tecovas Shale above. The Tecovas Formation is a 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

2968-409: The summer months to creep downhill. It takes place on moderate slopes, relatively free of vegetation, that are underlain by permafrost and receive a constant supply of new debris by weathering . Solifluction affects the entire slope rather than being confined to channels and can produce terrace-like landforms or stone rivers . A landslide, also called a landslip, is a relatively rapid movement of

3024-512: The total area of the canyon system. Also, the inaccessibility of the major canyons in the Himalaya contributes to their not being regarded as candidates for the biggest canyon. The definition of "deepest canyon" is similarly imprecise, especially if one includes mountain canyons, as well as canyons cut through relatively flat plateaus (which have a somewhat well-defined rim elevation). The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (or Tsangpo Canyon), along

3080-604: The water of the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River, as well as the consequent ample game, edible plants, and protection from the weather the canyon provided. The first European explorers to discover the canyon were members of the Coronado expedition , who visited the canyon in 1541. Apache Indians lived in Palo Duro at the time, but they were later displaced by Comanche and Kiowa tribes, who had

3136-696: Was released in 2018 as part of a multichannel SACD titled 'American Symphonies' on the Swedish BIS label, with Lance Friedel conducting the London Symphony Orchestra . [REDACTED] Texas portal Canyon A canyon may also refer to a rift between two mountain peaks, such as those in ranges including the Rocky Mountains , the Alps , the Himalayas or the Andes . Usually,

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