Escalante Canyon (slides 17-25), Black Canyon (slides 26-60)
Mar 02 2017 - 1:11 pm

Dakota Sandstone caps flat surfaces between canyons (as this northeast entry to Unaweep Canyon along West Creek, Book Cliffs in background)
Jun 10 2017 - 6:49 pm

Switchbacks on Divide Road through Triassic Red Beds, Grand Mesa in the background
Jun 10 2017 - 6:12 pm

pre-Cambrian granite cliffs
Jun 10 2017 - 6:06 pm

Ranch in Unaweep Canyon
Jun 10 2017 - 6:08 pm

Knob of Triassic red beds directly on pre-Cambrian granite with a billion years in between
Mar 02 2017 - 1:16 pm

Colorful granite cliffs
Mar 02 2017 - 1:13 pm

"X" marks the spot
Mar 02 2017 - 1:23 pm

Thimble Rock behind Drigg's Mansion
Mar 02 2017 - 1:39 pm

Drigg's mansion rebuilt
Mar 02 2017 - 1:43 pm

In the middle of Unaweep Canyon
Mar 02 2017 - 1:22 pm

Deep in Unaweep Canyon
Mar 02 2017 - 1:26 pm

Deeper still
Mar 02 2017 - 1:33 pm

The Citadel
Mar 02 2017 - 1:54 pm

Granite spire
Mar 02 2017 - 2:03 pm

SW face of the Uncompahgre Plateau over Triassic red beds
Mar 02 2017 - 2:18 pm

Grand Valley from Grand Mesa (left) to the Uncompahgre Plateau (right) (flat slope of plateau is deceptive, numerous canyons cut the Dakota Sandstone surface of the plateau)
Jun 10 2017 - 11:42 am

Such as Escalante Creek Canyon which cuts through the Dakota Sandstone and underlying Mesozoic rocks
Jun 10 2017 - 12:40 pm

Life-blood of the west, irrigation ditches
Jun 10 2017 - 12:27 pm

Next to an abandoned stone ranch house
Jun 10 2017 - 12:27 pm

The road deterioated upstream from the potholes
Jun 10 2017 - 3:04 pm

I pushed on, stopping often to check road conditions (ample time to photograph blue and gold flowers, 6 of 15 states with official colors list blue and gold)
Jun 10 2017 - 3:39 pm

Ranch at top of the Uncompahge Plateau
Jun 10 2017 - 3:54 pm

San Juan (left) and San Miguel Mountains (right) from Divide Road (finally made it back to an improved road)
Jun 10 2017 - 4:04 pm

Black Canyon
Apr 13 2017 - 4:01 pm

NW end of Black Canyon trapped behind Fruitland Mesa uplift
Apr 13 2017 - 2:53 pm

To the SE end of Black Canyon along the north rim and CO 92
Apr 13 2017 - 5:54 pm

Colorful pre-Cambrian granite in walls of deepest Black Canyon
Apr 13 2017 - 4:00 pm

Uncompahgre Group of the San Juan Mountains over Black Canyon
Apr 13 2017 - 4:00 pm

Gniess (nice) rock
Apr 13 2017 - 4:25 pm

Cimarron Ridge of the San Juan Mountains
Apr 13 2017 - 5:06 pm

Cimarron Valley along the Black Canyon uplift
Apr 13 2017 - 4:50 pm

Black Canyon cut into a stripped granite surface reminescent of Royal Gorge
Apr 13 2017 - 5:30 pm

Clouds reflected in Morrow Reservior (Gunnison River northwest of the park is a series of reservoirs used to power and irrigated the Uncompahgre Valley)
Apr 13 2017 - 5:38 pm

Close up of the stripped pre-Cambrian granite-gneiss surface covered by Mesozoic rocks (an example of 10⁹ year hiatus)
Apr 13 2017 - 5:40 pm

Upper end of Morrow Reservoir
Apr 13 2017 - 5:41 pm

Banded gneiss, geologists call the swirls "migmatite" Who need microscopes? Weather and life (lichens) bring out the faintest details of fractal patterns
Apr 13 2017 - 5:43 pm

Coming out of the upstream end of Black Canyon
Apr 13 2017 - 5:40 pm

Blue Mesa Reservoir at the upper end of Black Canyon
Dec 07 2020 - 2:31 pm

Blue Mesa Dam, CO 92 goes over the dam
Apr 13 2017 - 5:51 pm

Across the road, the start of Black Canyon
Apr 13 2017 - 5:54 pm

North on CO 349 to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (south rim)

San Juan Mountains from CO 349
Nov 14 2021 - 4:08 pm

Telephoto of San Juan Mountains centered around Mt. Sneffels (14,150')
Nov 14 2021 - 4:08 pm

CO 349 follows dip slope of Dakota Sandstone (shown in road cut) to the Black Canyon National Park
Nov 14 2021 - 5:35 pm

Nov 14 2021 - 4:17 pm

History of Black Canyon
Nov 14 2021 - 4:31 pm

Black Canyon
Nov 14 2021 - 4:38 pm

Gunnison Point Overlook
Nov 14 2021 - 4:30 pm

Well marked overlooks (yards to the overlook posted)
Nov 14 2021 - 4:40 pm

First view of the Painted Wall
Nov 14 2021 - 4:31 pm

Painted Wall
Nov 14 2021 - 4:48 pm

Plants live on the Painted Wall
Nov 14 2021 - 5:10 pm

Gneiss rock type (close up and on the far side of the canyon)
Nov 14 2021 - 4:48 pm

Landsend Peak (10,806', center) and Coal Mountain (11,705', right) of the West Elk Mountains
Nov 14 2021 - 4:46 pm

Gibbous moonrise over Black Canyon
Nov 14 2021 - 4:50 pm

Gunnison River deep in the canyon
Nov 14 2021 - 5:11pm

Road to north rim of the Black Canyon through Grizzly Gulch (Landsend Peak Coal Mountain, and Mt. Gunnison (12,719') in background)
Nov 14 2021 - 5:20 pm

Back to US 50 (Horsefly Peak high point on Uncompahgre Plateau over irrigated Uncompahgre Valley)
Nov 14 2021 - 5:42 pm