PARK HISTORY
Palo Duro Canyon’s long and colorful past has created considerable interest among historians, archeologists, and geologists. Historians have traced the written history of man and his effect on the Palo Duro area, but archeologists have delved much further into the past. They have sought out and studied the more enduring records of the canyon’s early inhabitants—their tools, utensils, and weapons. The geologist, however, is interested in history that far antedates even the most primitive human inhabitant of the canyon. The earth scientist has probed the geologic record of the Palo Duro area, using [rocks], [minerals], and [fossils] as clues to the geologic history and development of the canyon.
Palo Duro Canyon is unique among Texas’ State parks because of its many contributions to history, archeology, and geology. Here the written record, the artifacts of prehistoric man, and the [geologic formations] overlap and complement each other in many respects. Although this guidebook is primarily concerned with the geologic history of the canyon, a brief review of its human history is also included.