%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Black Canyon of the Gunnison http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/black-canyon-gunnison <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Black Canyon of the Gunnison</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-02-03T13:31:54-07:00" title="Friday, February 3, 2017 - 13:31" class="datetime">Fri, 02/03/2017 - 13:31</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/black-canyon-gunnison" data-a2a-title="Black Canyon of the Gunnison"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fblack-canyon-gunnison&amp;title=Black%20Canyon%20of%20the%20Gunnison"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Two thousand feet deep, forty-eight miles long, and two million years old, western Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of the most stunning geologic features in the American West. The fourteen miles along the <a href="/article/gunnison-river"><strong>Gunnison River</strong></a> have been protected as a national park since 1999, drawing more than a quarter million visitors per year.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Scenery</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park comprises fourteen of the steepest and narrowest miles of the forty-eight-mile-long canyon in southwest Colorado. Protected for the unusual and aged rock, the strength of the Gunnison River, and the opportunities to view wild country, the canyon inspires us to marvel at the power of natural forces in our world.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>For many, just seeing Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a shock. There is little that can prepare us for our first visit to the canyon, and its vertical truth jolts us out of our normal range of understanding. Here the cliffs are extremely sheer, plunging a startling 2,000 feet to the Gunnison River below. Here plants and animals have adjusted to a perpendicular reality. Here people have plumbed the depths of the Earth to test themselves within the wilderness.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Geology</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Black Canyon has an old story to tell. The exposed metamorphic rock, changed by heat and pressure when deep in the earth, is among the oldest in North America; the enduring schist and gneiss was formed shortly before it helped form early North America. Through plate tectonics, the rock moved and joined with another plate to form the foundation of the continent.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Deep in the earth, magma intruded into the rock. These granites add dimension and color to the Black Canyon’s crags. Most notable are the stripes of pink pegmatite. They squiggle and twist on the faces of the cliffs. The Painted Wall, the highest cliff in Colorado, displays a range of geometric shapes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Gunnison River drains the many high peaks surrounding the river’s basin, including the Elk, Sawatch, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-mountains"><strong>San Juan Mountains</strong></a>. These mountains gather <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/snow"><strong>snow</strong></a> through the winter before spring sun arrives, melting the snow with great urgency.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Like a crowded freeway that bottlenecks to a few lanes, the snowmelt floods into creeks, rivulets, streams, and side rivers before finally reaching the Gunnison. These seasonal floods give the river immense carving power. Year after year, century after century, the river grinds the grit and gravel that it carries at flood stage against its rocky bed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Gunnison River thunders down the canyon with more than 2.7 million horsepower. Vehicle strength does not rate in comparison; jetliner engines move with some 110,000 horsepower. The roar of the river provides an auditory hint of that might. The waters of the Gunnison have sliced down through this aged rock faster than the forces of freezing and thawing water have been able to chisel away at the sides of the canyon.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>We glimpse the natural wonder of the Black Canyon two million years after such carving began. Even as we measure it in minutes, hours, or days, time stands still here. Though the canyon has been wearing away for a very long time, the rock itself holds an antiquity beyond our measure; the schist and gneiss are nearly two billion years old.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ecology</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>It is difficult to wrap our minds around such a large number. It might be easier to start with the “ancient” <strong>piñon and juniper</strong> trees at the western end of the park. <a href="/article/tree-ring-dating-0"><strong>Tree-ring dating</strong></a> suggests some have reached 700 to 800 years old, comprising some of the oldest groves of their species.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>These and the other species of plants provide some of the noticeable rhythm of life along the canyon’s rim. This vibe includes the patterns of migratory birds such as the <strong>peregrine falcon</strong>, violet-green swallows, and turkey vultures. <strong>Black bears</strong>,<a href="/article/mule-deer"><strong> mule deer</strong></a>, <strong>bobcats</strong>, and <a href="/article/bighorn-sheep"><strong>bighorn sheep</strong></a> also call the canyon home.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While we typically look for these larger animals, smaller creatures add an important dynamic to this vertical world. From otters and mink in the river to smooth green snakes and bullsnakes on the slopes, to the dusky grouse and yellow-bellied <strong>marmots</strong> on the rim, the spectrum of life is rich in this wilderness of water, stone, and sky.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Human Presence</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although prehistoric people made use of the canyon for thousands of years, it appears that the <strong>Ute</strong><strong> Indians</strong> were among the earliest to call it home. They primarily frequented the canyon’s rim, hunting game and gathering plants. After 1800, explorers occasionally made their way into or around the canyon seeking animal pelts, precious metals, transportation routes, and water. <a href="/article/john-w-gunnison"><strong>John W. Gunnison</strong></a>, for whom the river is named, explored the canyon in 1853 while searching for a railroad route across the Central Rockies. His was the first written description of the canyon, which he called “the roughest, most hilly and most cut up” land he had ever seen.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By the early part of the twentieth century, people were coming to fish and float the Gunnison for fun. It was not until the late 1920s, though, that local townspeople conceived the idea of building a road to the rim of the canyon. Completed in 1930, the road made the canyon both accessible and vulnerable to human exploitation. Local leaders began an effort to protect the area from development, and a small portion was set aside as a <strong>national monument</strong> in 1933.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Original plans to provide visitor services in the monument seemed grand at the time. The country passed through the trials of the <strong>Great Depression</strong> and World War II, after which Americans desired rapid development of natural recreation areas. New voices arose to speak for wild country as well.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Wilderness</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After World War II, wilderness seemed to be disappearing as fast as snow under the spring sunshine. Automobile tourists were looking for experiences in the untrammeled canyon. Anglers, kayakers, rock climbers, and hikers saw the Black Canyon as a means to test their abilities and endurance, experience the land with family or friends, and possibly find a spiritual connection among its towering cliffs and spires.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Their voices were heard, and in 1976 half of the monument was designated as a <strong>wilderness area</strong>. Enlarged and established as a <strong>national park</strong> in 1999, the canyon still draws visitors seeking solitude, peace, and a grander sense of place in a world that marks time in milliseconds and information in megabytes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Among the best opportunities to feel that sense of place is to gaze at the night sky above the canyon. Designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2015, Black Canyon is notable for its celestial tapestry of constellations, planets, and nebulae.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Wilderness, around the world and beyond, holds mysteries awaiting discovery. Our experiences at Black Canyon, whether we find them during the day or night, allow us to grasp something of the never-ending essence of our Earth.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/zaenger-paul" hreflang="und">Zaenger, Paul</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-canyon-gunnison" hreflang="en">black canyon of the gunnison</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-canyon-gunnison-national-park" hreflang="en">black canyon of the gunnison national park</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gunnison-river" hreflang="en">gunnison river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/john-w-gunnison" hreflang="en">john w gunnison</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/national-parks-colorado" hreflang="en">national parks colorado</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Wallace R. Hansen, <em>Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Depth</em> (Tucson, AZ: Western National Parks Association, 1987).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ronald M. Lanner, <em>The Piñon Pine: A Natural and Cultural History</em> (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1981).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>National Park Service, “Black Canyon—Explorers: 1853-Gunnison Expedition,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas Prather, <em>Geology of the Gunnison Country</em> (Gunnison, CO: B &amp; B Printers, 1982).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Mark T. Warner, <em>Through the Black Canyon</em> (Sheridan, MI: Braun-Brumfield, 1972).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="https://carhart.wilderness.net/">Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm">Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://darksky.org/">International Dark-Sky Association</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.usgs.gov/science/science-explorer">United States Geological Survey Science Explorer</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p>Visit Montrose, "<a href="https://www.colorado.com/articles/ways-experience-majestic-black-canyon">Ways to Experience the Majestic Black Canyon</a>," Colorado Tourism, 2017.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 03 Feb 2017 20:31:54 +0000 yongli 2324 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Western Slope http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-slope <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Western Slope</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-01-23T16:14:24-07:00" title="Monday, January 23, 2017 - 16:14" class="datetime">Mon, 01/23/2017 - 16:14</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-slope" data-a2a-title="Western Slope"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fwestern-slope&amp;title=Western%20Slope"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>“A Fantasy land,” “a mystique,” “a state of mind”—these are only some of the expressions used to describe the Western Slope of Colorado, commonly defined as the roughly one-third of the state that lies west of the <a href="/article/great-divide"><strong>Continental Divide</strong></a>. The serpentine divide forms the region’s eastern boundary, running 276 miles from the Wyoming border to New Mexico and separating the Western Slope from Colorado’s more populous <a href="/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> and the broad <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-luis-valley"><strong>San Luis Valley</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Though it is home to 10 percent of Colorado’s residents, the Western Slope contains 33 percent of the state’s land, some of the state’s most popular tourist and recreation areas, and about 70 percent of its <a href="/article/water-colorado"><strong>water</strong></a>. The fact that most of the state’s natural resources lie on Colorado’s west side while most of its residents live in the east has led to tension and conflict, especially over the topic of water diversion.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Those who live west of the divide might say that they feel different from other Coloradans due, in part, to their unique relationship with the area’s rugged terrain, numbing cold, heavy <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/snow"><strong>snow</strong></a>, and stark isolation. Some residents of the Western Slope feel as though their needs and desires are overlooked by a distant state government that does not understand their needs and concerns. Yet, Coloradans are increasingly linked together by shared economic interests as well as a common desire to conserve the landscapes and resources that make the state such a special place to live.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Western Slope has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years. From <a href="/article/paleo-indian-period"><strong>Paleo-Indian</strong></a> occupation around 12,000 BC to the era of the <a href="/search/google/Ute"><strong>Ute people</strong></a> (c. AD 1300–1880), the area’s early inhabitants were mostly nomadic hunter-gatherers, who followed large game on seasonal routes between the region’s many elevation zones. Evidence at the <a href="/article/mountaineer-archaeological-site"><strong>Mountaineer Archaeological Site</strong></a> near <strong>Gunnison</strong> indicates that Paleo-Indian peoples occupied the Western Slope as early as 12,000 BC. During the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/archaic-period-colorado"><strong>Archaic Period</strong></a> (6,500 BC–AD 200), <a href="/article/ancestral-puebloans-four-corners-region"><strong>Ancestral Puebloan</strong></a> peoples occupied parts of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-river"><strong>Colorado</strong></a> and <a href="/article/gunnison-river"><strong>Gunnison River</strong></a> basins. Perhaps the most well-known of the Western Slope’s early inhabitants were the Ancestral Puebloan peoples, who lived in the <a href="/article/mesa-verde-national-park-archaeology-and-history"><strong>Mesa Verde</strong></a> and the Four Corners regions from about 350 BC until approximately AD 1300.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Ancestral Puebloans were the first of many farmers in Colorado, relying on crops of maize to supplement their hunting and gathering economies. Their extensive use of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/irrigation-colorado"><strong>irrigation</strong></a> showed an awareness and understanding of the challenges of farming in an arid environment, but in the late thirteenth century, a period of crippling drought appears to have dealt the decisive blow to a society already suffering from violence due to religious, economic, and political strife. Nevertheless, the lessons these people learned about living in an arid and isolated land would prove instructive to those who followed, particularly the Ute people who moved to the Western Slope after AD 1300.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Utes came to western Colorado from the Great Basin, in what is now eastern California and southern Nevada. Unlike the Ancestral Puebloans, who inherited a rich agricultural tradition, the Utes brought with them to Colorado the hunting-and-gathering way of life known as the Mountain Tradition. As it turned out, that way of life suited them well in the arid parts of the Western Slope, and especially well in the Rocky Mountains’ resource-rich river valleys. Ute people hunted buffalo, <a href="/article/mule-deer"><strong>mule deer</strong></a>, jackrabbit, and <a href="/article/rocky-mountain-elk"><strong>elk</strong></a>, and collected a wide assortment of seeds, nuts, roots, and berries from the landscape. Over centuries they carved well-worn trails throughout the mountains, many of which later became the routes of stage lines, railroads, and highways. Many of the Utes’ favored wintering grounds featuring hot springs, including the areas of present-day <strong>Glenwood Springs</strong>, <a href="/article/pagosa-springs"><strong>Pagosa Springs</strong></a>, and <strong>Steamboat Springs</strong>. Over time, Colorado became home to nine distinct bands of Utes, each of which laid claim to various parts of the state.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Utes held dominion over much of western Colorado until 1880, when most were expelled by the United States government. The <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ute-treaty-1868"><strong>Treaty of 1868</strong></a> left the Utes most of their land west of the Continental Divide in exchange for land along the Front Range and in the San Luis Valley. But several years later, significant gold discoveries in the <a href="/article/san-juan-mountains"><strong>San Juan Mountains</strong></a> compelled the federal government to negotiate the <a href="/article/brunot-agreement"><strong>Brunot Agreement</strong></a>, which brought the San Juans under the jurisdiction of the Colorado Territory. Many Utes were displeased with both agreements, as they were signed by leaders who did not necessarily represent the wishes of each band. In 1879 Utes at the <a href="/article/white-river-ute-indian-agency"><strong>White River Agency</strong></a> near present-day <a href="/article/meeker-0"><strong>Meeker</strong></a> revolted against <a href="/article/indian-agencies-and-agents"><strong>Indian Agent</strong></a> <a href="/article/nathaniel-meeker"><strong>Nathan Meeker</strong></a>, who had attempted to force them into an agricultural life. The incident prompted calls for the Utes’ removal across the state, and in 1880 the government forced the <a href="/article/northern-ute-people-uintah-and-ouray-reservation"><strong>Northern Ute</strong></a> bands to a new reservation in Utah. The <strong>Southern</strong> and <a href="/article/ute-history-and-ute-mountain-ute-tribe"><strong>Ute Mountain Utes</strong></a>, who did not participate in the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/meeker-incident"><strong>Meeker Incident</strong></a>, retained a narrow strip of land near the New Mexico border, where they live today.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Exploration and Fur Trade</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The first Europeans to visit Colorado’s Western Slope were the <a href="/article/spanish-exploration-western-colorado"><strong>Spanish explorers</strong></a> of the mid-eighteenth century, beginning with <a href="/article/juan-antonio-mar%C3%ADa-de-rivera"><strong>Juan de Rivera</strong></a> in 1765 and Fathers Silvestre Escalante and Francisco Domínguez in 1776. The Spanish never made a concerted effort to extend their dominion very far into the Ute homeland, but they did leave a legacy on the Western Slope, including the name for the ruddy river that drained and formed large swathes of the region—the “Rio <a href="/article/colorado-river"><strong>Colorado</strong></a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The next wave of foreigners to venture into the Ute lands of western Colorado consisted of European, Canadian, and Anglo-American fur trappers. With thousands of <a href="/article/beaver"><strong>beaver</strong></a> living along the many streams that flowed out of the high mountains, western Colorado offered a bonanza for mountain men during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. In 1828 the St. Louis trapper <strong>Antoine Robidoux</strong> built <a href="/article/fort-uncompahgre"><strong>Fort Uncompahgre</strong></a>, a <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading post</strong></a> near the confluence of the Gunnison and <strong>Uncompahgre</strong> Rivers. The fort was the first of its kind on the Western Slope and served as a supply and trading center for fur trappers in the vicinity. It was also a link between Santa Fé to the south and the beaver-rich country around the Green River to the north.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The center of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trade</strong></a> on the Western Slope, however, was <strong>Brown’s Hole</strong> in the extreme northwestern corner of Colorado. The valley got little snow compared to surrounding areas, so it was lush with grass and aspen stands and made a perfect place for suppliers and fur trappers to conduct business in Colorado’s short summers. From the late 1820s to 1840, the annual rendezvous at Brown’s Hole was the scene of extensive trading. In 1836 three trappers built <a href="/article/fort-davy-crockett"><strong>Fort Davy Crockett</strong></a> on the Green River in Brown’s Hole. Isolated and constantly threatened by Native Americans, the fort was referred to as “Fort Misery” by those who traded there. By the early 1840s, the fur trade was all but finished in Western Colorado, due in part to the over-trapping of beaver and a change in fashion tastes abroad. Both Fort Uncompahgre and Fort Davy Crockett were abandoned, marking the end of one of the most colorful eras in Western Colorado’s history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early American Era</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Though the fur trade era in this part of Colorado was relatively brief, the trappers who participated in it were among the first Anglo-Americans to truly become familiar with the Western Slope. <strong>Jim Bridger</strong>, <a href="/article/kit-carson"><strong>Kit Carson</strong></a>, and other former trappers later served as guides for official US expeditions into the region, such as those led by <a href="/article/john-c-frémont"><strong>John C. Frémont</strong></a> (1843–53), <a href="/article/john-w-gunnison"><strong>John W. Gunnison</strong></a> (1853), and <strong>John Wesley Powell</strong> (1869).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Collectively, the expeditions of the mid-nineteenth century demonstrated that the terrain of western Colorado was simply far too rugged to allow for a transcontinental railroad route, but each venture helped shed light on major natural features and resources. The <strong>Hayden expedition</strong> of 1872–73 proved especially useful in that regard. Working with telescopes, barometers, and glass-plate cameras, Hayden’s team peered into nearly every nook and cranny of the Western Slope. The maps produced by these surveying expeditions would soon lure mining engineers, road and railroad builders, cattle barons, investors, town builders, and loggers—the drivers of industrialized, expansionist America—to western Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a> along the Front Range in 1858–59 prompted the organization of <a href="/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a> in 1861. Around this time, several Western Slope areas became hotbeds of placer mining—a process that involves sifting out gold from gravel, mostly in streambeds. <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/breckenridge-historic-district"><strong>Breckenridge</strong></a> became one of the great mining towns in western Colorado history, while other mining districts sprang up in the Elk Mountains near present-day <a href="/article/crested-butte"><strong>Crested Butte</strong></a>, in the Gunnison River Valley, and in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. These deposits were quickly panned out, but new discoveries over the next several decades would make mining a hallmark industry of the Western Slope.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Unlike the earliest discoveries, most of the gold found on the Western Slope in the 1870s did not lie conveniently at the bottom of streams but was lodged deep within the earth, bonded to quartz and other rock. Nonetheless, as the Ute Indians continued to cede territory in western Colorado, thousands of miners filtered into the <strong>Sawatch</strong>, <strong>Elk</strong>, and San Juan Mountains. Seemingly overnight, mining camps such as <strong>Ouray</strong>, <a href="/article/telluride"><strong>Telluride</strong></a>, <a href="/article/lake-city-0"><strong>Lake City</strong></a>, and <a href="/article/silverton"><strong>Silverton</strong></a> became boom towns. The Gunnison country caught gold fever in 1879, with Crested Butte, Irwin, <strong>Tin Cup</strong>, Gothic, White Pine, and Pitkin becoming booming mining camps. <a href="/article/aspen"><strong>Aspen</strong></a> on the <strong>Roaring Fork River</strong> became one of the greatest silver camps in the United States, while <a href="/article/summit-county"><strong>Summit County</strong></a> continued to churn out both gold and silver.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Booms and Busts in Mining Country</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Colorado’s early miners found out, cycles of boom and bust have been a fact of life on the Western Slope since the area became part of the United States. Of the subsequent mining booms, coal lasted the longest, as the fuel provided essential energy for other industries, as well as heat, bricks, and electricity for Colorado’s growing towns. Hardy miners, many of them immigrants from southeastern Europe, worked in company towns throughout western Colorado. The work was hard and dangerous, and there was not much value placed on human life. These conditions led to labor strikes and tragic disasters, such as the 1884<strong> Jokerville coal mine</strong> <strong>explosion</strong> near Crested Butte that killed sixty miners. Labor unrest plagued mining areas from the start, and the economic crisis that came with the collapse of silver markets in the early twentieth century hit the San Juan Mountain camps especially hard. In addition to gold, silver, and coal, other minerals had their day in Western Colorado. This included zinc from southeast <a href="/article/eagle-county"><strong>Eagle County</strong></a> and molybdenum, a steel-hardening element, from the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/climax-molybdenum-mine"><strong>Climax Mine</strong></a> north of Leadville.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Compared to the earlier mining booms and the bloody labor disputes that accompanied them, the <a href="/article/uranium-mining"><strong>uranium</strong></a> boom of the mid-twentieth century might seem rather mundane, but it was certainly no less dangerous. An industry unique to the Western Slope, uranium mining was centered in the <strong>Paradox Valley</strong> near the town of <strong>Nucla</strong> in <a href="/article/montrose-county"><strong>Montrose County</strong></a>. Uranium, an essential element in nuclear weapons, was found in the valley during the late nineteenth century, and North America’s first radioactive metals mill was built on La Sal Creek in 1900. This boom peaked in the 1950s, when nuclear energy was considered by many to be a savior in a world seeking cheaper, more efficient fuel. As the uranium mining industry declined in the 1960s and 1970s, evidence of radioactive contamination in the bodies of industry workers and in the environments of former mine and mill sites began to mount. Today, many places in western Colorado still grapple with the environmental and health effects of uranium mining.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the 1970s, another brief boom period began when the federal government and private companies took steps to develop massive oil shale deposits in western Colorado. The deposits were located in the Piceance Basin near Meeker. In 1969 and 1973, as part of its <strong>Operation Plowshare</strong> program, the federal Atomic Energy Commission oversaw the subterranean detonation of nuclear devices near Rifle in an attempt to free deposits of oil and gas from surrounding rock. The blasts failed to free sufficient amounts of the resources, so no significant extraction occurred afterward. In general, extracting oil from subterranean rock proved to be more expensive than expected, and by the early 1980s world events and a drop in oil prices brought an abrupt end to the boom. Exxon and other oil companies pulled out of the region, taking thousands of jobs with them.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Agriculture and Tourism</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Following Ute removal in the early 1880s, farmers and ranchers joined miners on the Western Slope. <a href="/article/grand-junction"><strong>Grand Junction</strong></a>, <strong>Delta</strong>, and <strong>Montrose</strong> sprang up in 1881 and 1882, as did <strong>Glenwood Springs</strong> at the junction of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. Above the Colorado River, northwestern Colorado remained unsettled except for ranchers. Here and there, small towns sprang up for a variety of reasons. Steamboat Springs, <strong>Craig</strong>, <strong>Gunnison</strong>, and <strong>Yampa </strong>became cattle towns, while to the south, <strong>Durango</strong> prospered as a center for transportation, ore smelting, and agriculture.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Irrigation was critical to the success of many towns on the Western Slope. Colorado’s aridity hampered farming and ranching from the outset, so farmers around Grand Junction, Montrose, and other early agricultural communities dug ditches to water their crops. By the turn of the century, the newly created federal <a href="/article/bureau-reclamation-colorado"><strong>Bureau of Reclamation</strong></a> greatly expanded the amount of irrigated land on the Western Slope. The bureau’s Uncompahgre Project was the first major reclamation effort in Colorado and one of the earliest in the American West. In 1909 the bureau completed the project’s linchpin, the <strong>Gunnison Tunnel</strong>, a six-mile underground cavern that diverted Gunnison River water underneath Vernal Mesa to the Uncompahgre Valley near Montrose. With the help of irrigation, western Colorado soon became well known for its produce. The fruit industry—centering around <strong>Fruita</strong>, <strong>Palisade</strong>, <strong>Paonia</strong>, Cedaredge, and Hotchkiss—became world famous.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Unlike the early years of agriculture, the early years of ranching on the Western Slope were contentious as conflict between the region’s cattle and sheep ranchers broke out in the northwest part of the state over which livestock could feed on the best grazing territory. Ranchers in southwest Colorado, meanwhile, complained of Ute Indians leaving the Southern and Ute Mountain Ute Reservations to butcher cattle. Tensions between cattlemen and Utes who left the reservation sometimes flared into violence, as demonstrated by the <a href="/article/beaver-creek-massacre"><strong>Beaver Creek Massacre</strong></a> in 1885. Changes came to the region’s cattle industry in the twentieth century. In 1905 much of the land on the western slope came under the protection of the <a href="/article/us-forest-service-colorado"><strong>US Forest Service</strong></a>, which began charging grazing fees for cattle and sheep on the federal range. The furious stockmen fought the government to no avail, and in 1934 the <strong>Taylor Grazing Act</strong>, which later evolved into the <strong>Bureau of Land Management</strong>, further curtailed grazing on the public range. The involvement of the federal government proved to be an omen of things to come, as federal regulations ensured better conservation of federal lands even as it irked many ranchers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Along with the removal of the Utes and the arrival of irrigation, there was one more ingredient needed to ensure the economic success of the Western Slope. In 1881 the <strong>Denver &amp; Rio Grande Railroad </strong>arrived in Durango and Gunnison, followed in 1882 by <a href="/article/john-evans"><strong>John Evan</strong><strong>s</strong></a>’s Denver, South Park &amp; Pacific railroad, facilitating the transport of mineral ores and supplies. The railroads also brought tourists who flocked to the Western Slope during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Tourist dollars allowed former mining towns such as Aspen, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, and Telluride to rebuild their economies and evolve into the cultural and recreational hubs we know today. The advent of the automobile and the construction of high-quality paved roads during the mid-twentieth century made Western Slope mountain towns more accessible than ever, propelling the growth of Colorado’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ski-industry"><strong>ski industry</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Water Wars</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The ski industry and other recreational activities in western Colorado greatly depend on the region’s water supply. The Western Slope holds the source of the <a href="/article/yampa-river"><strong>Yampa</strong></a>, <strong>White</strong>, <strong>Dolores</strong>, <strong>San Juan</strong>, Gunnison, Eagle, Roaring Fork, Animas and Uncompahgre Rivers. Yet, as important as all these rivers are to their local environments and communities, they are all tributaries to the mighty Colorado River, the most important river in the southwestern United States. That designation has come at a high cost to the river; even though 70 percent of its water originates in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, much of that water has been diverted to support urban growth and agriculture on Colorado’s Front Range as well as in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and California.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tensions between water users run high in the western United States, but perhaps nowhere do they run higher than in Colorado. Most of the state’s water is in the Western Slope, but the majority of the population lives on the eastern side of the mountains, so Coloradans have built major diversions projects such as the <strong>Moffat Tunnel</strong>, Roberts Tunnel, Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, and the <a href="/article/colorado%e2%80%93big-thompson-project"><strong>Colorado–Big Thompson Project</strong> </a>to move water underneath the Continental Divide to Boulder, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a>, Denver, and other cities. These and other transmountain diversion projects have been met with anger by residents of the Western Slope. They not only question the ecological wisdom of draining their watersheds but are also troubled by the fact that the economically and politically dominant urban corridor along the Front Range has unfairly used its influence to obtain the lion’s share of Colorado’s water.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As author and photographer David Lavender wrote in his 1976 book <em>Colorado</em>, the Western Slope “is a human as well as a physiographic entity,” and residents “like to think that while shaping the land, they have been shaped by it: by its long vistas, its angularity, even its stubbornness.” Perhaps nowhere else in the state is the convergence of human culture and landscape more apparent than on Colorado’s Western Slope. As Coloradans continue to grapple with the unpredictable economic and ecological effects of a changing <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-climate"><strong>climate</strong></a>, the rugged heartiness of the Western Slope’s residents will certainly be tested. Yet, the region’s traditions of innovation and determination will serve it well, and its residents will continue to take pride in the good things they have managed to wrest from the land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>This article is an abbreviated and updated version of the author’s essay “A Land Apart,” distributed in 2006 as part of <strong>Colorado Humanities</strong>’ “Five States of Colorado” educational resource kit.</em></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/vandenbusche-duane" hreflang="und">Vandenbusche, Duane</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/river" hreflang="en">river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bureau-reclamation" hreflang="en">bureau of reclamation</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/glenwood-springs" hreflang="en">Glenwood Springs</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/garfield-county" hreflang="en">Garfield County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rio-blanco-county" hreflang="en">rio blanco county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/moffat-county" hreflang="en">Moffat County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/aspen" hreflang="en">Aspen</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/breckenridge" hreflang="en">Breckenridge</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/summit-county" hreflang="en">Summit County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/eagle-county" hreflang="en">eagle county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/san-juan-county" hreflang="en">san juan county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silverton" hreflang="en">Silverton</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/telluride" hreflang="en">Telluride</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/durango" hreflang="en">Durango</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/la-plata-county" hreflang="en">la plata county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/montezuma-county" hreflang="en">montezuma county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gunnison-county" hreflang="en">gunnison county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ouray-county" hreflang="en">ouray county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/dolores-county" hreflang="en">dolores county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/uranium" hreflang="en">uranium</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/exxon" hreflang="en">exxon</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/oil-shale" hreflang="en">oil shale</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal" hreflang="en">coal</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/craig" hreflang="en">Craig</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/meeker" hreflang="en">meeker</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Arthur Chapman, <em>The Story of Colorado: Out Where the West Begins</em> (Chicago, New York: Rand, McNally and Company, 1924).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David Lavender, <em>David Lavender’s Colorado</em> (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, <em>The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Department of Energy, “<a href="http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph241/powell1/docs/rioblanco.pdf">Rio Blanco, Colorado Site Fact Sheet</a>,” 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Department of Energy, “<a href="http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph241/powell1/docs/rulison.pdf">Rulison, Colorado Site Fact Sheet</a>,” 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Duane Vandenbusche, <em>The Gunnison Country </em>(Gunnison, CO: B&amp;B Printers, 1980).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Duane Vandenbusche and Duane Smith, <em>A Land Alone: Colorado’s Western Slope </em>(Boulder, CO: Pruett, 1981).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Greg Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard, and David McComb, <em>Colorado: A History of the Centennial State</em>, 5th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado.com Staff, "<a href="https://www.colorado.com/articles/10-western-colorado-fly-fishing-spots">10 Western Colorado Fly-Fishing Spots</a>," Colorado Tourism, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Peter McBride and Jonathan Waterman, <em>The Colorado River: Flowing through Conflict </em>(Boulder, CO: Westcliffe, 2010).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jonathan Waterman, <em>Running Dry: A Journey from Source to Sea down the Colorado River </em>(Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2010).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 23 Jan 2017 23:14:24 +0000 yongli 2210 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Clear Creek Canyon http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/clear-creek-canyon <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Clear Creek Canyon</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--465--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--465.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/spring-clear-creek-canyon"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Orcutt_Spring2013_0.jpg?itok=M94rgdXH" width="1090" height="743" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/spring-clear-creek-canyon" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Spring in Clear Creek Canyon</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="field-items"> <div>Every spring, the waters of Clear Creek rise, full of snow melt, and the canyon turns a vibrant green.</div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1406--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1406.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/clear-creek-drainage-basin"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/clear-creek-landsat-small_1_0.jpg?itok=mxnLds1f" width="1000" height="695" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/clear-creek-drainage-basin" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Clear Creek Drainage Basin</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This map shows the boundaries of the Clear Creek drainage basin and the conserved lands within.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1407--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1407.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/clear-creek-canyon-trails"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/CCLC-Trails-Small_1_0_0.jpg?itok=UEQDLr41" width="1000" height="743" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/clear-creek-canyon-trails" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Clear Creek Canyon Trails </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This map shows some of the popular trails found in Clear Creek Canyon.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-05-17T13:26:34-06:00" title="Tuesday, May 17, 2016 - 13:26" class="datetime">Tue, 05/17/2016 - 13:26</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/clear-creek-canyon" data-a2a-title="Clear Creek Canyon"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fclear-creek-canyon&amp;title=Clear%20Creek%20Canyon"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Clear Creek flows from the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-divide"><strong>Continental Divide</strong></a> at Loveland Pass, eastward through a deep and wide <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/glaciers"><strong>glacial</strong></a> valley down to <strong>Idaho Springs</strong>, where the valley narrows and the stream gradient increases as it enters narrow, relatively undeveloped Clear Creek Canyon. Through Clear Creek Canyon the stream rushes twenty miles in continuous rapids through deep rocky gorges to<strong> <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/content/golden">Golden</a></strong>, where it widens and becomes gentle again. Other than the two-lane US Highway 6, which hugs the creek, the canyon is nearly pristine, providing a major wilderness recreational area at the western edge of the <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver">Denver</a> </strong>metro area. Hikers, mountain bikers, rafters, rock climbers, and anglers, as well as those seeking a simple day away from the city with family and friends, all enjoy this beloved landscape.</p> <h2>Geology</h2> <p>Clear Creek Canyon is cut into highly resistant granite and gneiss bedrock, originally formed deep beneath ancient mountain ranges 25 million years ago. Many periods of subsequent faulting, uplift, and erosion brought these rocks to the surface some 40 million years ago, when Colorado was at a much lower elevation. This area had gently rolling hills then, and Clear Creek flowed eastward in roughly the same position it is today. As uplift was subsequently renewed (mainly in the last 10 million years), Clear Creek cut a 600-foot-deep canyon through a roughly two-mile-wide valley with steep walls and a wide gentle floor. Stream gravel deposited at that time is still preserved in places where remnants of this gentle valley bottom have not been removed by later erosion. Over the last few million years, Clear Creek was rejuvenated and cut a narrow, 1,000-foot-deep, V-shaped inner gorge into this older gentle valley to produce what is called the “inner canyon.”</p> <p>Only the inner gorge is visible from creek level, and travelers on Highway 6 are unaware of gentler terrain left from the earlier, wider valley preserved high above them. Clear Creek has a high gradient and is still actively deepening the gorge. As the creek cuts downward, canyon walls retreat via frequent rock falls, debris flows, landslides, and flash<strong> <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/flooding-colorado">floods</a></strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/flooding-colorado"> </a>that sometimes close the highway, which is also subject to washouts by Clear Creek itself. Walls of the inner gorge vary from nearly vertical (where the bedrock is most resistant to erosion) to more gently sloping walls (where the bedrock is less resistant or has been fractured in old fault zones). Just west of Golden, where Clear Creek crosses the Golden fault and enters soft, easily eroded sedimentary rocks, the canyon abruptly and spectacularly ends at the mountain front, giving way to the wide and inviting Golden Valley.</p> <h2>Tributaries</h2> <p>Clear Creek receives three major tributaries in the canyon, North Clear Creek (at about mile 12) and Guy Gulch (at about mile 5), both entering from the north, and Beaver Brook (at about mile 7) from the south. North Clear Creek flows down from the old <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Central City and Black Hawk</strong></a> mining districts, which have in recent years been converted to gambling centers. North Clear Creek supplies significant sediment to Clear Creek when flowing high during storms. Guy Gulch, smaller than North Clear Creek, flows from the south side of Golden Gate Canyon State Park through a wide, low-gradient valley, not visible from Clear Creek itself, before entering Clear Creek through a narrow gorge. Beaver Brook flows from Squaw Mountain and enters Clear Creek behind highway tunnel 2 through a narrow gorge. Most other tributaries in the canyon, many of which are unnamed, are small and steep.</p> <h2>Ecology</h2> <p>Clear Creek Canyon is oriented in an east-west direction, so the north and south sides of the canyon have very different vegetation. Canyon slopes north of Clear Creek face south and receive intense, high-angle sunlight, causing soils to be dry and thin. <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/snow"><strong>Snow</strong></a> disappears quickly from these inclines after winter storms. Slopes south of Clear Creek face north, and sunlight strikes them at a low angle; some steep slopes receive almost no direct sunlight during the winter months. Consequently, soils tend to be thicker and moister. The north side of the canyon is primarily covered by bunch grass or low brush (especially mountain mahogany) with scattered Rocky Mountain juniper trees. Open ponderosa <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/conifers"><strong>pine forests</strong></a> develop on the higher slopes. The south side of the canyon is mainly forest covered with open ponderosa forest on ridges and thick ponderosa pine–Douglas fir forests on most slopes. Underbrush is thick with mountain mahogany, Rocky Mountain maple, and a variety of other shrubs. Colorado blue spruce trees grow along the larger drainages, which may contain perennial, spring-fed streams.</p> <h2>People</h2> <p>The foothills and valleys that surround Clear Creek Canyon, and the benches that parallel it, were the hunting grounds and travel routes for the <strong>Arapaho</strong> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute</strong></a> peoples, and several prehistoric sites are recorded in the area. Early settlers in the 1800s, however, found the narrow, rugged, canyon a barrier to transportation. When gold was discovered and developed in Idaho Springs and Central City in the 1860s, mines were accessed from Golden via toll roads that followed ancient Native American trails along the higher areas north (Golden Gate Canyon route), and south (Mt. Vernon Canyon route) of Clear Creek Canyon. In 1872 the narrow-gauge <strong>Colorado Central Railroad</strong> was built up the canyon along a grade just above creek level. One branch of the line extended up North Clear Creek to Black Hawk and Central City. Another branch followed Clear Creek up to Idaho Springs and ultimately reached <strong>Georgetown</strong> and beyond in 1878.</p> <p>The railroad opened the area to tourism, and the canyon became a major scenic and recreational destination, famous for its spectacular cliffs. At Beaver Brook, midway through the canyon, the railroad built a small siding to allow passengers access to hiking trails and built a dance pavilion on the slope above it. As mining waned in the twentieth century, the railroad became unprofitable and the rails were removed in 1941. Construction of US Highway 6 through the canyon began in the late 1930s, often on top of the old railroad grade, and opened in 1952. In 1938 State Highway 119 was rerouted to intersect US Highway 6 and follow the railroad grade up North Clear Creek to Black Hawk. At especially narrow or circuitous sections of the canyon, six tunnels were bored through ridges to accommodate the highway. The old railroad grade is still preserved behind these tunnels. In 2014, <strong>Great Outdoors Colorado</strong>, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jefferson-county"><strong>Jefferson County</strong></a> Open Space, and Clear Creek County Open Space started construction of a paved bicycle path, which will one day connect Golden to the Continental Divide using the old railroad grade where possible.</p> <h2>Conservation</h2> <p>Clear Creek Canyon has remained remarkably free from the highway-based development that crowds most <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> canyons. There are no buildings in the inner gorge, and most of the outer gorge has escaped encroachment by home construction and attendant roads. Although all the land was <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/homestead"><strong>homesteaded</strong></a> in the late 1800s and used for cattle grazing and local hay production, a combination of rugged landscape, enlightened landowners, and local residents allowed it to remain undeveloped into the 1980s, when a combination of public and private land conservation efforts started the process of limiting development forever.</p> <p>In 1986, local residents created the <strong>Clear Creek Land Conservancy</strong>, which began conservation of land along the Beaver Brook trail through conservation easements and promoted further conservation by public and private entities. Jefferson County Open Space owns the land adjacent to Clear Creek, from Golden to the Clear Creek County line, and has preserved hundreds of acres of land on the canyon slopes in Clear Creek, Centennial Cone, Mt. Galbraith, and Windy Saddle Parks. Clear Creek County Open Space manages many acres of open space in the canyon between Highway 40 and Highway 119, and much of the lower portion of Beaver Brook is preserved in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-mountain-parks"><strong>Denver Mountain Parks</strong></a>’ <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/genesee-park"><strong>Genesee Park</strong></a>. The Clear Creek Land Conservancy owns 600 acres on the south side of the canyon and holds conservation easements on 1,300 additional acres of private land, ensuring it will never be developed.</p> <p>Trails in the canyon include the historic Beaver Brook Trail, which extends eight miles along the south side inner bench from Windy Saddle Park to Genesee Park. Centennial Cone Park on the northwest side of the canyon has an extensive trail system, accessible from the canyon bottom at Mayhem Gulch as well as from two trailheads on Douglas Mountain Drive and Robinson Hill Road.</p> <p>Conservation work remains. There are several large private land holdings on both sides of the canyon. If these are one day conserved, Clear Creek Canyon will be, and remain, the premier wilderness canyon of the Front Range.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/holden-gregory-s" hreflang="und">Holden, Gregory S.</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/clear-creek-canyon" hreflang="en">clear creek canyon</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cleer-creek-canyon-conservation" hreflang="en">cleer creek canyon conservation</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/clear-creek-county-open-space" hreflang="en">clear creek county open space</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/clear-creek-county" hreflang="en">clear creek county</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Cornelius W. Hauck, <em>Narrow Gauge to Central and Silver Plume</em> (Colorado Rail Annual No. 10, 1972).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="https://www.eacr2023.org/">Clear Creek Land Conservancy</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.jeffco.us/open-space">Jefferson County Open Space</a></p> <p><a href="https://peaks2plains.wordpress.com/">Peaks to Plains Trail</a></p> <p><a href="https://clearcreekrafting.com/">Whitewater rafting on Clear Creek</a></p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 17 May 2016 19:26:34 +0000 yongli 1404 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Royal Gorge http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/royal-gorge <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Royal Gorge</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--894--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--894.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/hanging-bridge"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Royal-Gorge_Media-1_20101516_0.jpg?itok=_yvqg1Wq" width="1000" height="1706" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/hanging-bridge" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Hanging Bridge</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Hanging Bridge, spanning the Royal Gorge's most narrow section. The narrowness of the canyon en route the the rich minefields of Leadville, Colorado was the cause of the corporate feud that became known as the Royal Gorge War.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--895--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--895.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/first-sightseeing-train-through-royal-gorge"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Z-210_0.jpg?itok=JzR2-vGL" width="1000" height="1284" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/first-sightseeing-train-through-royal-gorge" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">First Sightseeing Train Through the Royal Gorge</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The first sightseeing train of many to travel through the Royal Gorge in its long history as a premier tourist destination in Colorado.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--896--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--896.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/royal-gorge-bridge"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/GB-7605_0.jpg?itok=T68COFl2" width="1000" height="1243" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/royal-gorge-bridge" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Royal Gorge Bridge</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Royal Gorge Bridge spans 1,260 feet and is situated 1,053 above the Arkansas River, making it the highest suspension bridge in the United States. Since its opening in 1929, the Royal Gorge Bridge and Amusement Park has seen more than 25 million visitors.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--995--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--995.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/royal-gorge"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Royal_Gorge%5B1%5D_0.jpg?itok=hmG8nKln" width="1000" height="667" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/royal-gorge" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Royal Gorge</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Arkansas River began flowing during the uplift of the Rockies some 3 million years ago. Over centuries, as the mountains pushed farther upward, the river carved the spectacular, 1,250-foot Royal Gorge.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2015-11-10T12:27:31-07:00" title="Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - 12:27" class="datetime">Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:27</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/royal-gorge" data-a2a-title="Royal Gorge"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Froyal-gorge&amp;title=Royal%20Gorge"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The Royal Gorge is a spectacular canyon along the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/arkansas-river"><strong>Arkansas River</strong></a> near <strong>Cañon City</strong> in south-central Colorado. With a narrowest width of just 30 feet at the bottom of the canyon and a depth exceeding 1,200 feet in some places, the nearly ten-mile-long canyon is considered a world wonder of <a href="/article/colorado-geology"><strong>geology</strong></a>. With its iconic red granite formations and extreme height, the Royal Gorge was dubbed the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River by the first American explorers to see it. As an ancient wintering location for <a href="/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute</strong></a> Native Americans, as the site of intense and sometimes violent feuds between corporations, and now as a popular location for tourists, Colorado’s Royal Gorge stands as an iconic piece of the state’s history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Formation</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Approximately 3 million years ago, as the modern <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountain</strong></a> chain began to rise above the surrounding plains and deserts of the <strong>Colorado Plateau</strong>, a small trickle of water that would become the Arkansas River—one of the longest rivers in the United States—rose up with them. Through the centuries, the Rocky Mountains achieved their famous height and the Arkansas River grew in size and power, slowly cutting a deep channel through the hard granite of the emerging peaks. The Arkansas River slowly carved out the 1,250-foot deep canyon at a rate of approximately one foot every 2,500 years, resulting in the Royal Gorge’s unique rock formations, extreme height, and narrowness.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Long before permanent European settlement in Colorado, Ute people wintered in the Royal Gorge for its protection from inclement weather and the relatively mild <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-climate"><strong>climate</strong></a> of the Arkansas River valley. The Ute people and other Indigenous groups such as the Comanche and Lakota also used the Royal Gorge to access higher mountain meadows on hunting expeditions.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the early eighteenth century, much of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain region was claimed by the Spanish Empire. Although no known written record exists, it is likely that the conquistador expeditions launched from Mexico‑—as well as the Spanish fur trappers traveling through the Arkansas River Valley—would have seen the Royal Gorge. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson secured over 800,000 square miles of territory for the United States from France through the Louisiana Purchase, giving way to a flurry of American expeditions to the west. Among the most famous of these journeys was the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 and the <a href="/article/zebulon-montgomery-pike"><strong>Zebulon Pike</strong></a> expedition of 1806.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The hard-to-determine western boundary of the Louisiana Purchase ran through the heart of the <a href="/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a>, and Pike was charged with exploring the Mississippi River and its tributaries, with purchasing land from Indigenous people as sites for future military posts, and with bringing back to St. Louis any Native American leaders he could. Pike and his men headed west from St. Louis on July 15, 1806.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pike stumbled upon the Royal Gorge in December 1806 while searching for the headwaters of the Arkansas River. He recorded in his journal that his expedition had found the “Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River” and that his party had built a crude shelter near the canyon, where they stayed for several days. Pike and his men explored the area around the Royal Gorge and entered the canyon on horseback over the frozen Arkansas River, determining that they had indeed found its headwaters. Satisfied, Pike and his men then turned their attention to finding the headwaters of the Red River and a water route back to the Mississippi River. They left Royal Gorge on December 9, 1806. Pike’s erroneous assumption that he had found the headwaters of the Arkansas at Royal Gorge would soon come back to haunt him.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Arkansas River did not end at the Royal Gorge; it had simply disappeared into the depths of the canyon beyond where Pike’s men had explored. Unknown to Pike and his men, the river continued to snake northwest for more than 100 miles to its true source near present-day<a href="/article/leadville"><strong> Leadville</strong></a>. On December 18, the expedition encountered the river again approximately seventy miles above Royal Gorge, near present-day <strong>Buena Vista</strong>. Still believing that the Arkansas River began back at the gorge, Pike assumed that he had at last found the Red River and began to travel downstream.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Within days, their downriver trek brought them back to the Royal Gorge. To his horror, Pike realized that his men had arrived at the very point that they left on December 9. Determined not to be defeated, Pike broke his party into small detachments with various missions in and around the canyon. Pike and his men struggled up and down the treacherous landscape for nearly twelve days before finally assembling at the canyon’s eastern portal, where they remained, weathering a severe snowstorm until they left their Royal Gorge camp on January 14, 1807.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After the Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the remainder of the Colorado Territory officially came under control of the United States. The territory was then opened up for settlement. With the discovery of gold, silver, lead, and other precious minerals, prospectors descended on the Colorado Territory. It was not long before lead was found in the true headwaters of the Arkansas River, an event that created the need for a railway system through Royal Gorge.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Railroad Era</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Cañon City was established just east of Royal Gorge in 1860 to exploit the rich coal fields of the Arkansas River Valley. The 1877 discovery of lead in the Arkansas headwaters gave way to a flurry of mining activity and directed the attention of two railroad companies—the <strong>Denver &amp; Rio Grande</strong> (D&amp;RG) and the <strong>Atchison, Topeka &amp; Santa Fe</strong> (AT&amp;SF)—to Cañon City. Under normal circumstances, two railroad companies occupying the same valley—or even the same canyon—would not have been problematic, but the narrowness of Royal Gorge created a unique challenge for railroad builders.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Both railroads wanted to lay tracks through the canyon in order to quickly reach the mining fields in Leadville. But with room for only one set of tracks in the narrow canyon, the war for Royal Gorge began. Both railroad companies engaged in two years of small-scale sabotage warfare until the feud was settled by the Colorado Supreme Court on March 27, 1880. Both companies signed the so-called Treaty of Boston, which allowed the D&amp;RG to complete construction and lease its rail line to Leadville. The track was finally finished on July 20, 1880.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Passenger service through the canyon to Leadville began the same year the track was finished and ran until July of 1967, indicating Americans’ growing preference to visit the gorge via automobile. Commercial freight service continued through Royal Gorge until 1989, when the route was finally closed. However, in 1998 two corporations, the Cañon City &amp; Royal Gorge Railroad and Rock and Rail, Inc., joined together to form Royal Gorge Express, LLC in order to revive the abandoned railroad.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The company was awarded a construction bid from the Colorado Office of Economic Development to purchase and revive twelve miles of track running through Royal Gorge in order to preserve the rail corridor for its importance to Colorado mining history. Passenger service began again in May 1999. Today, the Royal Gorge Railroad is a major tourist attraction, carrying more than 100,000 visitors annually through the scenic canyon.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Hanging Bridge</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Building a rail line through the narrow Royal Gorge is an impressive feat, even by modern engineering standards. Perhaps the most harrowing segment of track in the canyon is the Hanging Bridge section, where the canyon narrows to just thirty feet wide. At this bottleneck, the railroad track had to be suspended over the river on the north side of the canyon where the sheer granite walls plunge nearly straight down into the river.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>C. Shallor Smith, a prominent engineer from Kansas, was called upon to design a way through the formidable obstacle. Smith eventually designed a 175-foot plated girder floor, suspended on one side by a series of A-frame girders, to span the river and support the track above the rushing water. When completed in 1879, Smith’s Hanging Bridge cost $11,759, an impressive figure for the time. Adjusted for today’s economy, it would cost an estimated $20 million to complete. The Hanging Bridge has been strengthened several times but remains largely unchanged over the years.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Royal Gorge Bridge and Amusement Park</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1906 Congress voted to give the Royal Gorge and surrounding land to Cañon City, Colorado. In 1929, Cañon City authorized the Royal Gorge Bridge and Amusement Company to build the Royal Gorge Bridge. At 1,053 feet above the river, the bridge is the highest suspension bridge in the United States and one of the highest in the world.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The project was financed by Lon P. Piper, president of the newly formed Royal Gorge Bridge and Amusement Company, with another Kansas architect, George E. Cole, who served as chief engineer of the project. Construction began on June 4, 1929 and was completed by early December 1929 at a cost of $350,000.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From start to finish, visitors came each day from across the United States to marvel at the construction of the bridge and the grandeur of the canyon. The Royal Gorge Bridge officially opened to the general public on December 8, 1929. To finance the construction and ongoing maintenance of the bridge, a toll of 75 cents per person was charged to those who wished to cross it, beginning the bridge’s long career as a preeminent tourist destination. The Royal Gorge Bridge has attracted more than 25 million visitors since opening and is the centerpiece of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park Amusement Company’s 360-acre theme park.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to the Royal Gorge Bridge, the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park Amusement Company added one of the world’s steepest incline railways in 1931. It also opened one of the world’s longest single-span aerial trams in 1969, and today operates more than twenty-one different rides, shows, and attractions, including the world’s highest zip-line. The gorge’s array of amenities, impressive engineering feats, and breathtaking scenery make it one of Colorado’s most popular tourist attractions.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Adapted from Judy Suchan, “The ‘War’ for the Royal Gorge,” <em>Colorado Central Magazine</em>, </strong><strong>January </strong><strong>3, 2011.</strong></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/royal-gorge" hreflang="en">royal gorge</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/royal-gorge-bridge" hreflang="en">royal gorge bridge</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/war-royal-gorge" hreflang="en">war for royal gorge</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Cañon City Escort Notes: Railroads. Cañon City, Fremont County, Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Walter Jenks, “Royal Gorge Bridge and Incline Railway,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (February 4, 1983).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Royal Gorge Region, "<a href="https://www.colorado.com/canon-city/travel-information-services/other-tourism-organizations/the-royal-gorge-region">Family Adventures in the Royal Gorge Region</a>," Colorado Tourism, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Frederick Carl Kessler, “The Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River in Colorado, Its History and Geology,” <em>Cañon City Daily Record</em>, 1941.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 10 Nov 2015 19:27:31 +0000 yongli 893 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org