Palo Duro Canyon

Located just outside of Amarillo, Palo Duro Canyon is often called the Grand Canyon of Texas and is the second largest canyon in the United States.The Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level.The Grand Canyon, the largest in the U.S., is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and 6,000 ft. deep.

About Palo Duro Canyon

Palo Duro Canyon was formed by water erosion from the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The water deepens the canyon by moving sediment downstream. Wind and water erosion gradually widen the canyon. Water erosion over the millennia has been aided by wind erosion to shape the canyon’s geological formations.

The steep sides of Palo Duro Canyon consist of bright, banded layers of orange, red, brown, yellow, gray, maroon, and white rocks that represent four different geologic periods and a time span of more than 240 million years. Fossils of long-extinct animals and plants have been found embedded in the rock layers.

•In the canyon, numerous pinnacles, buttes, and mesas can be seen, each protected by a cap of erosion-resistant sandstone or other rock. •The red claystone and the white layers of gypsum and shale can be seen. The red color was created by the iron oxide present in the rocks. The greater the content of iron, the redder the color. •The caprock layer located at the very top is composed mostly of sand, silt, clay and limestone.

An interesting feature found in Palo Duro Canyon are Hoodoos. Hoodoos are tall thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of dry basins and badlands. They are composed of soft sedimentary rock and are topped by a piece of harder, less easily-eroded stone that protects the column from the elements. They are mainly located in the desert in dry, hot areas.

Due to diverse habitats, Palo Duro Canyon contains many species of wildlife including the rare Texas Horned Lizard and Palo Duro Mouse. Other species include wild turkey, white tail and mule deer, Barbary sheep, coyotes, cottontail rabbits, roadrunners, and western diamondback rattlesnakes.

Although the canyon is 1 million years old, the rocks exposed on the slopes date back 250 million years. How is this possible?