Palo Duro Canyon: A 800-Foot-Deep Gash in the High Plains

The Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River cut through the flat Llano Estacado over millions of years. The result is Palo Duro Canyon. It runs roughly 120 miles long and up to 20 miles wide. In places it drops as much as 800 feet below the surrounding plains. Layers of red, orange, and white rock show the region's long geologic story.

The canyon has a deep human history. Native peoples used it for shelter and hunting for thousands of years. In 1874, the Red River War ended when Colonel Ranald Mackenzie destroyed a Comanche and Kiowa camp in the canyon. The tribes were forced onto reservations. Two years later, in 1876, Charles Goodnight set up the JA Ranch here. It was one of the first large cattle operations in the Panhandle.