This is one of the United States national parks which are situated at the western end of the Colorado and is managed by the national park service. The park has the two entrances. The southern end is more developed and is located 15 miles east of the Montrose. Another entrance which is the north rim entrance is located 11miles south of Crawford. This park contains the famous 12 miles long canyons of the Gunnison River. The deepest and the most dramatic section of the canyon are present in the park itself.

The Gunnison River drops only 43 feet per mile which is almost equal to 8 meters per kilometers. This makes the Gunnison River one of the steepest descents in the North America. The chasm view which is situated inside the park marks the steepest descent and that of 240 feet per mile which is really spectacular.

Do you have any idea why this canyon is called the black canyon? Wait I will explain it to you. Actually the steepness of the canyon is too deep that the sunlight hardly reaches down under. Hence it is quiet dark down under. This really makes the wall of the canyons which comprises of rocks look dark and black. This is the main reason why it is also called the black canyon.

The Gunnison River is really supposed to be responsible for the carving of the canyon. The canyon looks like as it is today due to the Gunnison River but some other geological events are responsible as well.

The Ute Indians knew about the black canyon much earlier than the other Europeans which discovered it hundreds of years ago. The US got the independence in the year 1776 and by that time many Europeans had already explored this great canyon. The history tells us that the first explorers came here for the wealth and treasury. However, later the explorer used to come here in search of the recreation purposes.

This canyon has really got some of the treasure if you are interested in the natural beauty. You can just come and visit this park and enjoy the whole day watching the canyon as well as the other recreation items which this park has for you.

The sport of the rock climbing is also quiet popular in this area. People come here and the professional rock climbers really find it quiet of high quality as far as the rock climbing is concerned.

Colorado is one of the states of the US which is quiet rich in the natural beauty. You can call it a nature’s paradise. You must have been to South Africa, the great rainbow country. But the Colorado is also not far behind and you will definitely love to visit this park which is one of the best parks around the Colorado.

Tags: black canyon, gunnison river, park