Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-02-28
NEW NATIONAL PARK.
PaIo Duro Canyon Proffered to
 the Government by Texas.
WONDERFUL NATURAL FREAK

Site of Proposed Park Excels Yellow
 stone In Wiidness and Beauty.
 Scenery Is as Impressive and lmpos-
 Ing as coorado's Grand Canyon.
 A national park containing many nat
 .al wonders and beauties will be es- tablished in the Panhandle of Texas if success follows the movement now on foot with that purpose in view. The Texas state legislature at its last ses- sion passed law ceding to the United States government large piece of ter ritory for use as national park, says the Kansas City Star. It is expected that congress will accept the gift and make adequate appropriation for the necessary improvements and assume the care and protection of the property,
 Embraced in this proposed park Is the Palo Duro canyon, which is said to excel in wild scenic beauties the wonders of Yellowstone park. The Palo Duro canyon begins near the bor- der line between New Mexico and Tex as and extends southeast to its outlet in the foothills below the cap rock of the plains. It has length of about 200 miles. That portion of the canyon which has been ceded to the federal government for national park purposes is about forty miles long and has an average width of about five miles. In many places the canyon broadens to . width of ten miles and more. The walls along its course are precipitous and rise to height of from 800 to 1,50O feet
 This canyon is looked upon by geol- ogists as wonderful freak of nature. The country adjacent to it and extend ing outward for several hundred miles is almost as level as floor. It is a great depression situated in the very heart of what is known as the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain. There Is such an absence of all ruggedness of formation of the country adjoining 1t that the giant offset in the earth's sur face is not noticeable until almost the very brink of the canyon is reached. It has the appearance of having been created by the sudden dropping out of the bottom of long strip in the crust of Mother Earth during the formative period
 The wonders of Palo Duro still are comparatively unknown. Its wild re- cesses never have been explored. Its physical features are wholly different from the bare and monotonous plains country in the midst of which 1t lies. So little known was this beauty spot that when the bill providing that 1t should be taken over by the federal government was before the last legis- lature 90 per cent of the members of that body were unaware that such canyon existed in the state. q It is iso7 lated from the more populous parts of the state but it Is situated close to two railroads. There is an entrance to the canyon within two miles of Canyon City on the Santa Fe railroad, and 1t may be easily reached from Amarillo and other points on the Fort Worth and Denver railroad. Notwithstand- ing the proximity of these towns to the canyon but few attempts have ever been made to explore its depths and remote meanderings. It Is occasionally visited by ranchmen and sportsmen, and much of the knowledge that Is to be had of what is contained between the precipitous walls is obtained from these men. What few explorations that have been made were confined to the more accessible portions of the giant depression. Its grassy valleys afford grazing ground for many cattle. These glades are well known to the ranchmen of this region. There are many rugged features of the canyon which offer an inviting field for daring climbers and explorers. There is grand mixup of matter ln some parts of the canyon. The scenery Is as i'm pressive and imposing as that of the -. EaH