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Palo Duro Canyon
About Palo Duro Canyon
Located just outside of Amarillo, Palo Duro Canyon
is often called the Grand Canyon of Texas and is the
second largest canyon in the United States.
The Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles
wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800
feet.
Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level.
The Grand Canyon, the largest in the U.S., is 277
miles long, 18 miles wide, and 6,000 ft. deep.
Palo Duro Canyon was formed by water erosion from
the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The water
deepens the canyon by moving sediment downstream.
Wind and water erosion gradually widen the canyon.
Water erosion over the millennia has been aided by
wind erosion to shape the canyon’s geological
formations.
The steep sides of Palo Duro Canyon
consist of bright, banded layers of
orange, red, brown, yellow, gray,
maroon, and white rocks that represent
four different geologic periods and a
time span of more than 240 million
years. Fossils of long-extinct animals and
plants have been found embedded in the
rock layers.
•In the canyon, numerous
pinnacles, buttes, and mesas can
be seen, each protected by a cap
of erosion-resistant sandstone or
other rock.
•The red claystone and the white
layers of gypsum and shale can be
seen. The red color was created by
the iron oxide present in the
rocks. The greater the content of
iron, the redder the color.
•The caprock layer located at the
very top is composed mostly of
sand, silt, clay and limestone.
An interesting feature found in Palo Duro Canyon are Hoodoos.
Hoodoos are tall thin spires of rock that protrude from the
bottom of dry basins and badlands. They are composed of soft
sedimentary rock and are topped by a piece of harder, less easilyeroded stone that protects the column from the elements. They
are mainly located in the desert in dry, hot areas.
Due to diverse habitats, Palo Duro
Canyon contains many species of wildlife
including the rare Texas Horned Lizard
and Palo Duro Mouse. Other species
include wild turkey, white tail and mule
deer, Barbary sheep, coyotes, cottontail
rabbits, roadrunners, and western
diamondback rattlesnakes.
Although the canyon is 1 million years old, the rocks
exposed on the slopes date back 250 million years.
How is this possible?