Red Canyon (Fremont County, Wyoming)
Encyclopedia
Red Canyon is a canyon
located in Fremont County, Wyoming in the United States
. The uplift of the nearby Wind River Range
60 million years ago exposed sedimentary rocks
that were eroded by streams. The canyon exposes a number of geologic formation
s including the Phosphoria Formation
from the Permian
Period and the Chugwater Formation
from the Triassic
Period. Oxidized iron
deposits in the rocks give the canyon its name. Red Canyon Creek drains the canyon and feeds into the Little Popo Agie River at the northern end. The streams provide habitat for wildlife in an otherwise arid region.
There is evidence of over 10,000 years of human presence in the canyon, including the Shoshone
and Washakie
tribes which used it as a transportation corridor between South Pass
and the Wind River Basin
. White settlers arrived during the 1870s and established farms on the floor of the canyon which provided fresh fruit and grains for nearby miners at South Pass City
and Atlantic City
.
Today, much of the canyon floor is owned by the Nature Conservancy which maintains the land as a working ranch. The canyon is listed as a National Natural Landmark
.
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
located in Fremont County, Wyoming in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The uplift of the nearby Wind River Range
Wind River Range
The Wind River Range , is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW-SE for approximately 100 miles . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and includes Gannett Peak, which at 13,804 feet , is the highest peak...
60 million years ago exposed sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
that were eroded by streams. The canyon exposes a number of geologic formation
Geologic formation
A formation or geological formation is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy. A formation consists of a certain number of rock strata that have a comparable lithology, facies or other similar properties...
s including the Phosphoria Formation
Phosphoria Formation
The Permian Phosphoria Formation of the western United States represents some 15 million years of sedimentation, reaches a thickness of and covers an area of . The formation is a phosphorite and an important resource of phosphorus....
from the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
Period and the Chugwater Formation
Chugwater formation
The Chugwater Formation is a mapped bedrock unit consisting primarily of red sandstone, in the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado in the USA...
from the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
Period. Oxidized iron
Iron oxide
Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. All together, there are sixteen known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides.Iron oxides and oxide-hydroxides are widespread in nature, play an important role in many geological and biological processes, and are widely utilized by humans, e.g.,...
deposits in the rocks give the canyon its name. Red Canyon Creek drains the canyon and feeds into the Little Popo Agie River at the northern end. The streams provide habitat for wildlife in an otherwise arid region.
There is evidence of over 10,000 years of human presence in the canyon, including the Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
and Washakie
Washakie
Chief Washakie was a renowned warrior first mentioned in 1840 in the written record of the American fur trapper, Osborne Russell. In 1851, at the urging of trapper Jim Bridger, Washakie led a band of Shoshones to the council meetings of the Treaty of Fort Laramie...
tribes which used it as a transportation corridor between South Pass
South Pass
South Pass is two mountain passes on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The passes are located in a broad low region, 35 miles broad, between the Wind River Range to the north and the Oregon Buttes and Great Divide Basin to the south, in southwestern Fremont...
and the Wind River Basin
Wind River Basin
The Wind River Basin or Shoshone Basin is a semi-arid intermontane structural basin in central Wyoming, USA. It is bounded by Laramide uplifts on all sides. On the west is the Wind River Range and on the North are the Absaroka Range and the Owl Creek Mountains...
. White settlers arrived during the 1870s and established farms on the floor of the canyon which provided fresh fruit and grains for nearby miners at South Pass City
South Pass City, Wyoming
South Pass City is an unincorporated community in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. It is located 2 miles south of the intersection of highways 28 and 131. The closest town is Atlantic City...
and Atlantic City
Atlantic City, Wyoming
Atlantic City is a census-designated place in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 39 at the 2000 census. The community is a small mining settlement in a gulch near South Pass in southwestern Wyoming. It was founded as a mining camp following the 1867 gold rush in the region...
.
Today, much of the canyon floor is owned by the Nature Conservancy which maintains the land as a working ranch. The canyon is listed as a National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
.
External links
- National Natural Landmark - Red Canyon, National Park Service
- The Nature Conservancy - Red Canyon Ranch