Palo Duro Canyon

The following 10 pictures were taken in Palo Duro Canyon on Monday, March 30, 2009 at about 4:00 pm.

Longhorn

This shows the Texas Longhorn, one of the many animals that live in the canyon. The longhorns are herbivores and live in a fenced in area on the east side of the canyon.

Animals: any member of the kingdom Animalia; don't produce their own food

Herbivores: an animal that eats only plants

Scenic Overlook

This is a beautiful picture taken from the scenic overlook at the canyon. I think it is great there because you can see the entire canyon and the habitat where all the organisms there live.

Habitat: The place where an organism lives

East side

This is a picture of the view on the east side of the canyon. I like it a lot because it just seems like this one rock goes on for the length of the canyon. Also, on the east side there is more of a drop off and not really any places you can climb up.

Large Mountain

This is a picture of one of the larger mountains in the canyon. I like it a lot because you can see it from almost anywhere and it sticks out in the sky.

Branch on rock

This picture shows a piece of wood resting on a large rock. I thought it was really neat how the wood landed perfectly on the rock and has been there for who knows how long. This was taken right outside the cave, and I didn't see too many trees around either.

River

This picture shows one of the rivers running through the canyon. This source water is an important part of the canyon ecosystem. The water is so high right now because we just got a lot of precipitation in the area.

Ecosystem: All living and nonliving things that exist and interact in one place

Yucca

These are Yucca seed pods found in many places in the canyon, but seen mostly on the side of the road. You can also see the green prickly leaves of the Yucca plant on the ground.

Rocks

This picture shows various sizes of rocks in one area. I think it is neat how different rocks break off of each other to create a large range of rock sizes.

Cave

This is a really neat cave in the side of one of the mountains. You can go inside it, but there were no plants or animals living there. Also, there were two openings in the top and side of the cave where you could see the sunlight.

Purple Cactus

This is a group of purple cacti that was on the side of a plateau. Different types of cacti are the main kinds of plants in the canyon. This type is called a prickly pear. These purple ones are my favorite because they add color to the surrounding area.


Plants: any member of the kingdom Plantae; multicellular organisms that typically produce their own food by the process of photosynthesis