Like the early Spanish explorers who first saw Palo Duro Canyon, today’s
visitor is likely to view the impressive canyon with surprise and awe.
This great depression—it is more than 2 miles wide and as much as 800
feet deep within park boundaries—contains a fascinating assortment of
multicolored geologic formations and erosion-produced rock sculptures of
many shapes, colors, and size. The geographic setting of the canyon
further heightens its impact on the visitor, for it is surrounded by the
level, virtually treeless plains of the Texas Panhandle. (_See_ upper
background area in fig. 1, frontispiece).
It is not surprising that this scenic area has been set aside as a State
park, for Palo Duro Canyon has long been of interest to man. First, as
the hunting grounds of prehistoric Indians who stalked the now-extinct
Ice Age mammoths and bison that roamed the valley floor. Later, the
canyon was frequented by the Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas, and other
Indians of historic time. These tribes, like those before them, found
both food and refuge within the canyon. However, it was not until 1876
that Palo Duro Canyon was inhabited by the white man. It was during this
year that pioneer cattleman Charles Goodnight herded some 1,600 head of
cattle into the canyon and established a camp there (p. 6).
Today’s visitor to Palo Duro Canyon can re-live some of the fascinating
history of this interesting area. One can still see a replica of Colonel
Goodnight’s primitive dugout, follow the faint trace of the Comanche
Trail, or perhaps find the fossil bones of prehistoric creatures that
lived hundreds of thousands—even millions—of years ago. But most
visitors to Texas’ most colorful canyon are not attracted by its
interesting history. They come instead to enjoy the scenery and
recreational opportunities that are present. These are readily
accessible, for a carefully engineered, hard-surface road leads from the
rim of the canyon to the canyon floor. There are campgrounds, picnic
areas, concessions, and even an outdoor theatre (fig. 23). The location
of these facilities and some of the canyon’s more interesting geologic
features are shown on the generalized place map of the canyon (fig. 2).
This publication does not attempt to describe the scenic beauty of Palo
Duro Canyon, for this must be seen to be appreciated. Rather, it
discusses the geologic setting and origin of the canyon, the methods by
which some of the more interesting geologic features were formed, and
briefly reviews the history of the area. Hopefully, it will enable the
visitor to understand better the meaning behind the canyon scenery,
thereby enhancing his visit.