Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks - page 134

Canyon Village

Sights

1 Canyon Visitor Center B1

Activities, Courses & Tours

2 Cascade Creek Trailhead A1

3 Glacial Boulder Trailhead D2

4 Wapiti Lake Trailhead A5

Sleeping

5 Canyon Campground C1

6 Canyon Lodge B2

7 Canyon Lodge Cabins B2

Eating

Canyon Deli (see 8)

8 Canyon Lodge Cafeteria B2

Canyon Lodge Dining Room (see 6)

9 Yellowstone General Store B2

Shopping

10 Yellowstone Adventures Outdoor Gear Shop B2

GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE
After its placid meanderings north from Yellowstone Lake through the Hayden Valley, the
Yellowstone River musters up its energy and suddenly plummets over Upper Falls
(109ft) and then the much larger Lower Falls (308ft), before raging through the 1000ft-
deep Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. More than 4000ft wide at the top, the canyon
snakes for 20 miles as far as the Narrows near Tower-Roosevelt Junction.
Much of the canyon's beauty comes from its subtle range of colors, from an egg white
to a flamboyant salmon pink, a byproduct of iron oxidization in the rock (and not, as
many assume, of sulfur deposits). As park publications note, the canyon is in effect rust-
ing. Whiffs of steam still rise from vents in the canyon wall, hinting at the thermal activity
that played a major role in the creation of the Yellowstone canyon (by weakening the rhy-