Golden Gate Photo - Black Canyon of the Gunnison Gallery

Golden Gate Photo - Black Canyon of the Gunnison Gallery
Fine Art Photography from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in West-Central Colorado.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison was a national monument until October of 1999, when it was elevated to national park status. The canyon is up to 2,900 feet (880 meters) deep and only 40 feet (12 meters) wide at its narrowest point. It's called the Black Canyon because sunlight reaches the canyon floor for only about an hour a day. The sheer gray walls of the canyon are formed by the erosion-resistant metamorphic rocks, gneiss and schist, of the Precambrian Era. Stratigraphically, the Black Canyon is the equivalent of the gorge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

	Pulpit Rock Overlook Here, you can see the Gunnison River as it continues to gradually carve out the narrow gorge. Print No. A03-12-3
	Cross Fissures View The Precambrian schist and gneiss of the canyon were ancient sediments that were melted, faulted, fractured, uplifted and eroded long before the canyon even began forming Print No. A03-11-12
	Chasm View Visible on this vertical face of the canyon are dikes, igneous intrusions where magma forced its way through ancient fractures and solidified. Print No. A03-10-12
	Painted Wall More dikes are exposed along this shear cliff, which at 2,300 feet (700 meters), makes it the highest cliff in Colorado. Print No. A03-11-4
	Devils Lookout In this southeast-facing image is a close up of the erosion-resistant metamorphic rocks. Print No. A03-11-7
	Rock Point This is looking east from the aptly-named vista. In the background are the peaks of the Gunnison National Forest, topped by Mount Gunnison at 12,719 feet (3,877 meters). Print No. A03-11-9

BACK TO COLORADO GALLERY   BACK TO WESTERN U.S. GALLERY   BACK TO MAIN GALLERY

For all photograph orders, please record the Print Number and Title and refer to the Order Form. Have comments or suggestions for this website? Send Me an E-Mail