Wide View: The vista from a viewpoint on the rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park near Montrose, Colo. shows the massive rock formations that make up the canyon walls. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Gunnison River: The Gunnison River carved this canyon over millions of years. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is located in western Colorado near the town of Montrose.

The area was designated a national monument in 1933 and then upgraded to a national park in 1999. The main entrance is on the south rim and is about 15 miles east of Montrose.

There is an entrance to the north rim near Crawford, Colo., but that road is not paved and is closed in the winter. The canyon is best described as steep, deep, and narrow. The canyon is more than 2,700 feet deep at its deepest point and only 40 feet wide at its most narrow point.

Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country and he shares his photographs, which appear in the ‘Posts from the Road’ series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.

Painted Wall: A small section of the ‘Painted Wall’ is seen with the sun lighting a portion and the remainder still in the shadow. The canyon is named Black Canyon because the rock walls are so steep and deep sunlight is rarely seen in many areas making the rock walls appear dark. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Massive Formations: A view of the massive rock formations is seen from the south rim looking across to the grass lands on the north side of this amazing gorge. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com