Mountain 101

M. John Fayhee
July 23, 2008

Royal Gorge. Black Canyon. What’s the difference?

This is some disagreement as to whether the words “canyon” (sometimes spelled in its Spanish form, cañon) and “gorge” are synonyms. Some would argue that the major difference is “canyon” traces its etymological roots back to Spanish, while “gorge” evolved from French.

Wikipedia, for instance, says: “A canyon or gorge is a deep valley between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau level.” This definition not only treats the terms as interchangeable but manages to simultaneously treat the word “valley” as a synonym of both.

Traditionally, though, canyons are geomorphologic events that are wider than they are deep, while gorges are deeper than they are wide.

Colorado is home to a wide array of noteworthy canyons, gorges and, yes, even valleys — which are generally considered wider and gentler than gorges or canyons and which often were formed by the actions of glaciers as well as erosion.

Unlike mountains, though, attempts to statistically quantify canyons and gorges are thwarted by the reality that there is no accepted means by which depth is measured.

Often, in an attempt to gain superlatives, they are measured from the highest point on an adjacent rim down to the river level. Some argue, however, that canyons and gorges ought to be measured from an average rim height to the river, while others still argue that overall displacement ought to be used, that is to say: How much dirt would it take to fill the entire canyon up to rim level? The displacement argument takes into account not only the depth of a canyon or gorge, but the length and width as well.

Here’s a quick tour of some of Colorado’s noteworthy canyons, gorges and valleys.
• The deepest canyon in the state actually fits the definition of a gorge. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison reaches a depth of 2,000 vertical feet while, in some places, the distance from rim to rim is only 1,150 feet. At its most narrow point, the canyon is only 40 feet across at river level. In 1999, the Black Canyon was upgraded in status from a national monument to a national park. The Gunnison River through the Black Canyon drops an average of 43 feet per mile through the entire canyon, making it one of the steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile. The greatest descent of the Gunnison River occurs at Chasm View, where it drops 240 feet per mile.

• The Royal Gorge, located near Cañon City, is probably Colorado’s best-known canyon, or, well, gorge. Carved by the Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge is about 10 miles long, 1,200 feet deep and, in places, only 200 feet across. The Royal Gorge is home to the world’s highest suspension bridge over water. Built in 1929 solely to serve as a draw for tourists, the Royal Gorge Bridge is 1,053 feet above river level. The bridge has served as the launching point for BASE jumping and bungee jumping.

• The San Luis Valley is advertised by area marketing mavens as the largest alpine valley in the world. It covers approximately 8,000 square miles (122 miles long by 74 miles at its widest point). Home to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the San Luis Valley has gained international notoriety in the recent past for its plethora of unexplained phenomena. The valley is famous for its multitude of UFO and Bigfoot sightings, cattle mutilations, weird noises, apparitions and unusual military activity.
• Byers Canyon is a short gorge on the Upper Colorado River in Grand County. It is eight miles long and perhaps is best known for having, on its upper end, the voluminous Hot Sulphur Springs.

• Big Thompson Canyon drops from a source elevation of 11,310 feet to a mouth elevation of 4,670 feet along its 78-mile length on the east side of the Rockies near Loveland. Big Thompson Canyon will forever be known as the site of one of Colorado’s biggest natural disasters. On July 31, 1976, during the celebration of the state’s centennial, a series of flash floods swept down the canyon, killing 145 people. The floods were triggered by a near-stationary thunderstorm near the upper section of the canyon that dumped 12 inches of rain in less than four hours, which amounted to almost three-quarters of the area’s annual rainfall average. Very little rain fell over the lower section of the canyon, where most of the victims were. Around 9 p.m., a wall of water more than 20 feet tall raced down the canyon at 14 mph. That wall destroyed 400 cars, 418 houses and 52 businesses. Six bodies were never recovered.

• Clear Creek Canyon. This tributary of the South Platte River is about 40 miles long and was home to some of the most intense early mining activity in the gold rush of 1859. Clear Creek Canyon now provides access to a high percentage of traffic heading up from Denver to the gambling casinos of Central City and Black Hawk. Clear Creek itself is famous for providing the water used by Coors to make its world-famous beer.

• Three-mile long Gore Canyon is home to the wildest commercially viable whitewater in Colorado. Located near Kremmling, this 1,000-foot deep canyon is not accessible by road, and is home to the annual Gore Canyon Whitewater River Festival, held the third Saturday of August. Gore Canyon boasts many Class Five and Class Six rapids, and has been the site of several whitewater fatalities.
• Platte Canyon is a narrow gorge on the South Platte River near Denver. Part of this Canyon includes eight-mile long Waterton Canyon, which is about 1,000 feet deep. The easternmost section of the Colorado Trail passes through Waterton Canyon in its way toward — or from — Durango.

• Poudre River Canyon, near Fort Collins, is 40 miles long. Its name notwithstanding, it is actually a glacier-formed valley through the foothills of the Front Range.

• Rattlesnake Canyon, accessed primarily through Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, is home to nine natural arches, the second-highest concentration of arches in the U.S. after the much better-known Arches National Park in Utah. The entry road is known for being treacherous. According to the Bureau of Land Management, at least four vehicles were stranded trying to get to Rattlesnake Canyon in 2006 alone, due to unexpected rains that made the road impassible.

• Unaweep Canyon is a geologically distinct canyon that cuts across the Uncompahgre Plateau in western Colorado. There is much dispute among geologists as to how this canyon came to cut across a plateau. Some argue that the Dolores River once flowed through Unaweep Canyon. Some argue that it was the Gunnison River that once flowed through the canyon. Still others argue that the canyon was actually formed by glaciation.


M. John Fayhee is Editor-at-Large for the Mountain Gazette. His eighth book, “A Colorado Mountain Companion,” will be published by Westcliffe next year. Contact him with corrections, clarifications and observations at mjfayhee@yahoo.com.