Black Canyon of the Gunnison United States

Legendary

Parts of this steep, dark, narrow canyon only receive 33 minutes of daylight per day.

Photo by Jeff Hollett

Some spots inside Black Canyon of the Gunnison get only 33 minutes of direct sunlight a day. The canyon walls are so steep and so close together that the sun barely has a chance to reach the bottom, which is exactly how the canyon earned its name.

The Gunnison River carved this canyon over roughly 2 million years, cutting straight down through some of the hardest, oldest rock in North America. The river drops an average of 34 feet per mile through the canyon, making it one of the steepest river descents on the continent. For comparison, the Colorado River drops only about 7.5 feet per mile through the Grand Canyon.

At its narrowest point, the canyon measures just 40 feet across at the river, barely wider than a two-lane road. Up at the rim, some sections are only about 1,100 feet apart, an incredibly tight gap for a canyon this deep.

The walls plunge dramatically. At their steepest, the cliffs drop nearly 2,700 feet straight down to the river below. The Painted Wall, streaked with pale pink bands of rock called pegmatite, rises 2,250 feet, making it the tallest sheer cliff face in all of Colorado.

Black Canyon was first protected as a national monument in 1933, then upgraded to full national park status on October 21, 1999, making it one of the newest national parks in the country.

No trails lead directly from the rim down to the river. Only a few unmarked, difficult routes exist for experienced hikers, which helps keep this dramatic canyon wild and undisturbed.

Drive along the South Rim for sweeping overlooks of the canyon's steepest sections. Stop at Chasm View for one of the most dramatic drops in the entire park. Look for Painted Wall from Painted Wall View, where the towering cliff glows pink and gray in the afternoon light.