The Escalante Canyon Colorado

by Janice Pariza

Title

The Escalante Canyon Colorado

Artist

Janice Pariza

Medium

Photograph - Photography Art

Description

Escalante Canyon, a high desert area covers both Montrose and Delta Counties. Escalante Creek has cut a 1300-foot deep canyon revealing a geologic cross section representing over 600 million years of deposition and erosion (from the Precambrian to the Cretaceous). The rare Sclerocactus glaucus (Uintah Basin hookless cactus) and Astragalus linifolius (Grand Junction milkvetch) are found at this site. Hanging gardens in the canyon walls harbor Mancos columbine (Aquilegia micrantha) and Eastwood monkeyflower (Mimulus eastwoodiae). High-quality plant communities, including Great Basin grasslands, saltbush barrens, pinyon pine - Utah juniper woodlands and a saltgrass meadow occur throughout the canyon.
Located at the northeastern edge of the Colorado Plateau, the Escalante Canyon is one of the most pristine climbing areas in all of canyonlands.
The canyon was formed over 600 million years as Escalante Creek carved the 1,300 foot gorge. The Escalante Canyon has a long history of human occupation. The Ute Indians for years had made the North Fork of the Escalante River their winter home. Early settlers, attracted by the year-long water supply and sheltering cliffs, son pushed the Indians off the land.
Many cattle outfits began using the canyon as their winter quarters. In 1886, John Musser took up residence in one of the first homesteads in the canyon where he operated the Musser Cattle Company. Over the years the company has acquired ranch after ranch so that now most of the grazing paddocks along the canyon's entire length are consolidated under Musser Cattle.
The infamous Colorado Sheep War centered around cattlemen protecting their grazing land from flocks of hungry sheep. In the early 1900s, an unwritten code existed which relegated sheep to one side of the Gunnison River. When a swinging bridge was built over the river and sheep travelled across, the cattlemen retaliated by shooting hundreds of sheep. Two residents of the canyon died in the shootout.
Most people lived very peaceably with one another. Henry Walker, and his large family built brick cabin, which still stands there. Built in 1911, the family was unable to afford cement for the mortar between the bricks, so Henry and his four sons laid the bricks using mud dug from a hole in the yard. The cement that exists on the cabin today is a thin coating, applied later after the family earned enough money to buy the materials. The Colorado Division of Wildlife owns the historic building today and visitors are welcome to explore the cabin.
Another resident, Captain Henry A. Smith, was particularly sociable. When Smith was 65, the small but spunky man packed up and left his lifelong home of Joliet, Indiana to serve in the Civil War. Though he only served a month in the war as acting captain, he became "Captain" for life. To accommodate all his visitors, Cap build two houses - one for his guests. The house is now state owned, but remains open to visitors. The Colorado Division of Wildlife maintains the site and has added a picnic table.

PURCHASE OPTIONS:
Prints of this art are available on canvas, metal, acrylic and gallery prints, framed or unframed, greeting cards and iPhone or Galaxy phone covers along with so many other quality items. FAA has a large selection of frames, mats and surfaces available for you to create museum quality masterpieces of your original print selections. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I can give you any suggestions! Thank you!

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I hope you enjoyed this visual journey! Please return often as I upload fresh work quite often! I am grateful for your time!

Uploaded

September 4th, 2013

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