Gunnison Point Overlook Trail

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

Gunnison Point Overlook is located directly behind the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park visitor center - the overlook is visible from the visitor center. Along this short walk, mica flakes in the rocks sparkle in the sunlight.

Over a billion years ago, molten rock was squeezed into fissures forming the light-colored bands which thread Black Canyon's otherwise dark walls – at Gunnison Point you are standing on one of these bands. As the hot fluid slowly cooled and hardened, minerals formed into crystals - look closely and you may see flecks of mica, feldspar, quartz, and perhaps even garnet. These bands of lighter colored igneous rock - called pegmatite dikes - are more resistant to erosion than the dark gneiss.

The vertical position of the dikes here, combined with their resistance to weathering, has produced the fin-like appearance of parts of the canyon walls - you will encounter pegmatite at nearly every overlook in the park. The pegmatite dike you see across the canyon nearly half a mile away is the same one you are standing on – a testament to the relentless cutting power of the Gunnison River!