To access the cache, continue south on Highway 92 out of Crawford. There is ample signage to get to the monument. The last several miles are well-maintained gravel road. This cache is placed as an introduction to the area. Take in the beautiful and scenery and learn some history before you get to the canyon!
Located south of the Town of Crawford is the North Rim of the Black Canyon. This giant chasm in the ground is both breathtaking and frightening! The Gunnison River has slowly been working on the gneiss and schist rock, eroding it down over 2700 feet. The greatest depth of the canyon in 2722 feet at Warner Point. At some points, the canyon is more steep than it is wide and sunlight can only penetrate to the bottom of the canyon at mid-day. The metamorphic rocks exposed at the bottom of the canyon are over 2 billion years old. They date back to the Precambrian Era, known as the oldest era of Earth!
The first Europeans to see the canyon were Spanish explorers in the 1700’s. Juan Rivera was the first in 1765 and then the Escalante and Dominguez expedition in 1776 both passed by the canyon. After that, fur trappers of the 1800’s were no doubt hampered in their search for beaver pelts. Then early pioneers tried taming the wild river and traversing the great chasm in search of railroad passes, fortunes in minerals and access to water. In 1900, five men attempted to survey the canyon in wooden boats as a means of irrigation for the Uncompaghre Valley. After one month, their boats were in splinters and all their supplies were gone. However, the following year, two men were successful in passing through the canyon on rubber air mattresses. They made the passage in only ten days.
The park was established as a National Monument in 1933 and then in 1999, it earned designation as a National Park. Make sure and check out the great Earthcaches and Virtual caches in the area.
Congrats to OrangeJeepofPa for the FTF!!