Black Canyon Research Paper

I invite you to explore Black Canyon on the western slope of the White Mountains, about 20 minutes east of Bishop, California. This obscure canyon is a highly colorful, deep slash in the earth that keeps its many charms secret to all but a handful of Eastern Sierra visitors. It is an easily accessible location that does not involve a scary, butt-clenching drive on the brink of a thousand-foot drop into the abyss.
One of the main reasons for its anonymity is the lack of publications detailing the area. Here in the Big Empty, however, many lonely and rather mysterious dirt roads have a come-hither attraction, if for no other reason than to see where they lead. Many of them do not require a tank or a beefy 4WD rig.
Few travelers are tempted to abandon the smooth and comfortable black line of freeway between Lone Pine and Bridgeport to investigate the empty high desert east of Highway 395.
Rare, too, are day hikers and backpackers
At 5,300 feet elevation, the left fork, your route, leads into the heart of Black Canyon; Marble Canyon is on the right. Immediately you will see how it got its name.
If you feel like rummaging around in the sagebrush at the fork you will find the stone foundations and remnant rock walls of a few structures that are the scant remains of a WWI era mine camp. Keen eyes will spot a piece of asphalt here and there as you proceed through the gorge. Though it sounds impossible, at one time the road was paved! Though rarely traveled these days, motorized travel is legal in the lower canyon. Mountain bikers find it a fun and challenging destination.
Little did I expect to be gifted with such a wealth of wondrous, picturesque rock formations and unexpected beauty. The farther I walked, the more Black Canyon revealed itself. Before long, the road bed changes to a trail as it squeezes through a rocky