Santa Elena Canyon

Touring the Big Bend Park is mind blowing, but there is one part of it that is truly unique. That is Santa Elena Canyon. This canyon is a narrow rift between two towering cliffs and is eight miles long. It is 1300 feet deep and still getting deeper. The first group to go through this canyon in a boat was a special expedition in 1875. Several people have died since then while attempting to navigate this narrow canyon. We went down and looked at the entrance, but decided against trying to navigate it. The Rio Grande runs thru this canyon from west to east. This does not keep the river from flowing to the Atlantic. This canyon is thousands of years old.