#Santaelena #canyon #bigbend #texas #outside #outdoors #nationalparks #stateparks
Today, we’ll be taking a breathtaking journey into one of the most spectacular canyons in America.
Located at Big Bend National Park, Texas, the Santa Elena Canyon towers over both sides of the winding Rio Grande.
Its massive walls are visible from over 10 miles away, and its imposing cliffs reach up to 1500 feet at certain points.
This narrow canyon was gradually cut by the Rio Grande River.
It all started between 60 and 130 million years ago, when sediments that accumulated in a prehistoric shallow sea were laid down in the area that now makes up Big Bend. These sediments eventually hardened into massive limestone layers that were then carved by the Rio Grande over millions of years, forming the Santa Elena Canyon.
So exploring the ancient canyon walls is like traveling back in time!
The canyon section is 8 miles long, and visitors can raft or kayak down this stretch of the river in 1-3 days, depending on the season, water levels, and exact distance that they want to cover.
There are kayak rentals available, or you can bring your own, like we did. The water was pretty shallow, and the current was not strong, so for the most part, we had a relaxing but still breathtaking experience as we admired the ancient, rocky walls of this massive behemoth of a canyon.
It’s hard to understand the scale until you see it with your own eyes, so I suggest checking it out in person someday if you can.
Just watch out for falling rocks! We saw a couple of massive, human-sized boulders tumbling down and plunging violently into the water not too far away, so stay aware of your surroundings.
Santa Elena Canyon is one of the most underrated gems in Texas, and its timeless walls will take any daring visitor on an unbelievable, epic journey back to the time of the dinosaurs.
Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. Please don’t forget to like this video if you enjoyed it, and feel free to subscribe to my channel if you’d like to come along with me on my future adventures. I’ll see you on the next one!
DISCLAIMER: Please follow all rules and regulations at national parks, including with regards to the use of UAV's (drones). All flights in this video took place legally, from outside of the national park borders (Mexico). Please consult the following link for more information.
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Sources/Further Reading:
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Music Credits:
Song: Inner Peace
Artist: Onycs
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