Palo Duro Canyon’s long and colorful past has created considerable
interest among historians, archeologists, and geologists. Historians
have traced the written history of man and his effect on the Palo Duro
area, but archeologists have delved much further into the past. They
have sought out and studied the more enduring records of the canyon’s
early inhabitants—their tools, utensils, and weapons. The geologist,
however, is interested in history that far antedates even the most
primitive human inhabitant of the canyon. The earth scientist has probed
the geologic record of the Palo Duro area, using rocks, minerals, and
fossils as clues to the geologic history and development of the canyon.
Palo Duro Canyon is unique among Texas’ State parks because of its many
contributions to history, archeology, and geology. Here the written
record, the artifacts of prehistoric man, and the geologic formations
overlap and complement each other in many respects. Although this
guidebook is primarily concerned with the geologic history of the
canyon, a brief review of its human history is also included.