Illustrations
Figures— Page [1. Aerial View of Palo Duro Canyon] Frontispiece [2. Place map of Palo Duro Canyon] 4-5 [3. Indian carving on sandstone boulder] 6 [4. War dress of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker] 7 [5. Generalized geologic map of the Texas Panhandle] 9 [6. Geologic time scale] 11 [7. Generalized geologic map of Palo Duro Canyon State Park] 14-15 [8. Joints and gypsum veins in Quartermaster Formation] 17 [9. Syncline in Quartermaster red beds] 18 [10. Reduction halos in Quartermaster shale] 20 [11. Cross-bedded boulder of Trujillo sandstone] 20 [12. Panoramic view of canyon showing major rock units exposed in canyon] 21 [13. Phytosaur skull] 22 [14. Skeleton of Buettneria] 24 [15. Mortar hole made by Indians] 25 [16. Rock pedestal near the Lighthouse] 25 [17. Outcrop of Ogallala caliche] 26 [18. Life-sized model of shovel-jawed mastodon] 27 [19. Fossilized carapaces of Pliocene tortoises] 27 [20. Talus slopes and “hoodoo” on Capitol Peak] 31 [21. Entrance to Palo Duro Canyon State Park] 34 [22. Coronado Lodge] 34 [23. Pioneer Amphitheatre] 35 [24. Train on Sad Monkey Railroad track] 36 [25. South face of Triassic Peak] 36 [26. Spanish Skirts] 37 [27. Catarina Cave] 38 [28. Santana’s Face] 38 [29. Picnic area at first water crossing] 39 [30. Colonel Charles Goodnight’s Dugout] 40 [31. The Lighthouse] 41 [32. Capitol Peak] 42 [33. Fortress Cliff] 42 [34. The Rock Garden] 43 [35. The Devil’s Slide] 44 [36. Campsite in south end of park] 44 [37. Entrance to Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum] 45
Fig. 1. Aerial view of Palo Duro Canyon showing location of major points of interest: (1) Coronado Lodge; (2) Triassic Peak; (3) Timber Mesa; (4) Capitol Peak; (5) Fortress Cliff; (6) Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red River; (7) The Turnaround (termination of Park Road 5). (Courtesy of Charles A. Wolfin; photograph by W. A. Hester.)
The Geologic Story of Palo Duro Canyon
William H. Mathews III[1]
INTRODUCTION
Like the early Spanish explorers who first saw Palo Duro Canyon, today’s visitor is likely to view the impressive canyon with surprise and awe. This great depression—it is more than 2 miles wide and as much as 800 feet deep within park boundaries—contains a fascinating assortment of multicolored [geologic formations] and erosion-produced [rock] sculptures of many shapes, colors, and size. The geographic setting of the canyon further heightens its impact on the visitor, for it is surrounded by the level, virtually treeless plains of the Texas Panhandle. (See upper background area in [fig. 1], frontispiece).
It is not surprising that this scenic area has been set aside as a State park, for Palo Duro Canyon has long been of interest to man. First, as the hunting grounds of prehistoric Indians who stalked the now-extinct [Ice Age] mammoths and bison that roamed the valley floor. Later, the canyon was frequented by the Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas, and other Indians of historic time. These tribes, like those before them, found both food and refuge within the canyon. However, it was not until 1876 that Palo Duro Canyon was inhabited by the white man. It was during this year that pioneer cattleman Charles Goodnight herded some 1,600 head of cattle into the canyon and established a camp there ([p. 6]).
Today’s visitor to Palo Duro Canyon can re-live some of the fascinating history of this interesting area. One can still see a replica of Colonel Goodnight’s primitive dugout, follow the faint trace of the Comanche Trail, or perhaps find the [fossil] bones of prehistoric creatures that lived hundreds of thousands—even millions—of years ago. But most visitors to Texas’ most colorful canyon are not attracted by its interesting history. They come instead to enjoy the scenery and recreational opportunities that are present. These are readily accessible, for a carefully engineered, hard-surface road leads from the rim of the canyon to the canyon floor. There are campgrounds, picnic areas, concessions, and even an outdoor theatre ([fig. 23]). The location of these facilities and some of the canyon’s more interesting geologic features are shown on the generalized place map of the canyon ([fig. 2]).