Grand Canyon of Texas

February 7, 2022

While in orbit over the Texas Panhandle, an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) photographed Palo Duro and Caprock Canyons, areas that provide insight into Texas geologic and human history.

Dark, intricate canyon edges branch out into the High Plains, where agricultural fields and ranches tile the landscape. A fork of the Red River, named the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River, runs through the canyons. (Note that the photo has been oriented with north toward the bottom in order to prevent relief inversion by the shadows.)

Almost one million years ago, the headwaters of the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River began carving their way through the Palo Duro area. The canyon is now about 800 feet (240 meters) deep and about 20 miles (30 kilometers) across, making it the second largest canyon in the United States behind Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Comprised of sedimentary rock layers, the oldest exposed rocks in Palo Duro were deposited more than 250 million years ago, during the Permian Period.

The first known humans in the area are thought to have hunted bison and mammoths here, with fossils of extinct animals embedded in the sedimentary rocks. Human artifacts, such as stone tools and rock art, have been found throughout the canyons and date back thousands of years. Today agriculture and ranching spread across the surrounding landscape, though the Palo Duro and Caprock Canyon systems are both reserved as Texas state parks.

More:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149854/grand-canyon-of-texas

~ ~ ~



Palo Duro State Park



Caprock Canyons State Park