Goat Canyon (Carrizo Gorge) Explained

Goat Canyon
Location:Carrizo Gorge[1]
Coordinates Ref:[2]
Elevation Ft:1690
Area:Jacumba Mountains

Goat Canyon is a valley in San Diego County, California, United States, located within the Carrizo Gorge in the Jacumba Mountains. The rock forming the canyon is crystalline basement.[3] One feature of the canyon is a dry waterfall.[4] The canyon is bridged by a wooden railroad trestle, the Goat Canyon Trestle,[5] which is the world's largest curved all-wood trestle.[6] The canyon is accessible by trail by traveling west from Mortero Palms.[7]

Flora and fauna

Goat Canyon is named after desert bighorn sheep that live within and around the canyon.[8] During a desert bloom, which occurred in 2017, monkey flowers were observed flowering in the canyon.[9] The endangered species least Bell's vireo migrates through the area around the canyon.[10]

Human history

Prior to Spanish governance, there was Native American activity in the area around Goat Canyon;[11] the impact of this activity includes petroglyphs and pictograms in Carrizo Gorge.[12] The last Native Americans to live in the area were the Kumeyaay.[13] Later cattle ranchers utilized the area.[14] Beginning in 1912, construction began on the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway in the area. The Carrizo Gorge portion of the line, including Goat Canyon, was the final portion to be completed.[15] A railroad tunnel of The San Diego and Arizona Railway, Tunnel number 15, was built into the side of the canyon but it collapsed in 1932.[16] The collapse was caused by an earthquake, which dramatically changed the inclination of Tunnel number 15.[17] After Tunnel number 15 collapsed, it was decided that it would be bypassed using a wooden trestle.[18] During the construction of the trestle, segments were lowered into the canyon from the partially completed trestle.[19] Construction workers took breaks in a portion of the collapsed tunnel that they called the "mud shed".[20] The trestle was completed in 1933.[21]

In 1976 Hurricane Kathleen's effects impacted the region around the canyon, destroying tracks and other trestles in Carrizo Gorge;[22] the trestle over Goat Canyon was also damaged, with some of its footings destroyed during the hurricane.[23] By 1981, repairs from the hurricane damage were completed.[24] Heavy rains returned to the area in 1982 and 1983;[25] this led to rail service being discontinued over Goat Canyon and through Carrizo Gorge.[26] After repairs were again completed, trains once again ran over Goat Canyon in 2004.[27] [28] [29] In 2008 the trains once again stopped running over Goat Canyon.[30]

Popular media

In 1999, Huell Howser traveled to the canyon to visit the trestle over it.[31] In 2017, the canyon was depicted in a "Mysteries of the Abandoned" episode on the Science Channel.[32]

Other uses

There is another Goat Canyon in San Diego County, which is located north of the Mexico–United States barrier and south of the Tijuana River.[33]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sheri McGregor. Day and Overnight Hikes: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. 4 January 2007. Menasha Ridge Press. 978-0-89732-769-5. 166.
  2. Web site: Goat Canyon . . 19 January 1981 . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . 28 March 2018 . 30 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180330080122/https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=138:3:0::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:242757,Goat%20Canyon . dead .
  3. Book: James R. Evans. Landslides in Crystalline Basement Terrain: Annual Field Trip 1988. 1988. San Diego Association of Geologists.
  4. News: Baran . Robert . 29 May 2010 . Goat Canyon Trestle Trek . San Diego Reader . 28 March 2010 .
  5. News: Japenga . Ann . March 30, 2004 . Rail renegades . Los Angeles Times . February 15, 2018 .
  6. News: Bell . Diane . April 19, 2017 . Science Channel spotlights marvel in San Diego's back yard . San Diego Union Tribune . February 15, 2018 .
  7. Book: Lowell Lindsay. Diana Lindsay. Anza Borrego Desert Region: Your Complete Guide to the State Park and Adjacent Areas of the Western Colorado Desert. 10 October 2017. Wilderness Press. 978-0-89997-780-5. 437.
    Book: Jerry Schad. Scott Turner. Afoot and Afield: San Diego County: 282 Spectacular Outings Along the Coast, Foothills, Mountains, and Desert. 20 February 2017. Wilderness Press. 978-0-89997-802-4. 1034–1035.
  8. News: The Canyoneers . 19 July 2017 . Get close but not too close to Carrizo Gorge trestle . San Diego Reader . 28 March 2018 .
  9. News: Brandis . Jack . 6 April 2017 . Weekend Driver: Flowergeddon . San Diego Union-Tribune . 28 March 2018 .
  10. Web site: Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan and Record of Decision . . October 2008 . El Centro Field Office . Bureau of Land Management . 16 February 2018 . 30 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190130093312/https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/lup/71564/95316/115275/Eastern_San_Diego_County_RMP_ROD.pdf . dead .
  11. Book: Preliminary Wilderness Recommendations for the Eastern San Diego County Planning Unit: Department of the Interior Final Environmental Impact Statement. 1986. The Bureau. 61.
  12. Book: American Antiquity. 1943. Society for American Archaeology. 160.
    Web site: Desert Don's Native American Rock Art Gallery . Don Gennero . 2009 . University of San Diego . 29 March 2018 .
    News: Baran . Robert . 3 April 2010 . Desert Treasure . San Diego Reader . https://web.archive.org/web/20180330080028/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/apr/03/desert-treasure/ . 30 March 2018 . 29 March 2018 . dead . Alt URL
    Book: Dennis Slifer. Museum of New Mexico. Press. The serpent and the sacred fire: fertility images in Southwest rock art. 2000. Museum of New Mexico Press. 77. 9780890133460.
    Book: Fred Hirschmann. Scott Thybony. Rock Art of the American Southwest. 1994. Graphic Arts Center Pub.. 978-1-55868-163-7. 26.
  13. News: The Canyoneers . 8 April 2015 . How did this support life? . San Diego Reader . 29 March 2018 .
  14. Book: Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement. 2007.
    Web site: Attachment I: San Diego County Ranching Interviews . Thomson . Heather . Wade . Sue . 2009 . The Warner-Carrillo Ranch House . Save Our Heritage Organization . 29 March 2018 .
    Book: Lawrence Hogue. All the Wild and Lonely Places: Journeys In A Desert Landscape. May 2000. Island Press. 978-1-59726-336-8. 99.
  15. Price . James N. . Spring 1988 . The Railroad Stations of San Diego County . The Journal of San Diego History . 34 . 2 . San Diego Historical Society . 29 March 2018 .
    O'Bannon . Patrick . Fall 1979 . Railroad Construction in the Early Twentieth Century: The San Diego and Arizona Railway . 41170830. Southern California Quarterly . 61 . 3 . 255–290 . University of California Press . 10.2307/41170830 .
  16. News: The Canyoneers . July 19, 2017 . Get close but not too close to Carrizo Gorge trestle . San Diego Reader . January 15, 2018 .
  17. Web site: Adventure Hikes and Canyooneering In The Southwest . Brennen . Christopher . 10 February 2001 . Caltech . 29 March 2018 .
    Web site: Goat Canyon Trestle Revisited . surfponto . 23 February 2009 . anzaborrego.net . 29 March 2018.
    Book: Phillip T. Farquharson. David M. Bloom. Carole L. Ziegler. Geology and History of Southeastern San Diego County, California: San Diego Association of Geologists for 2005 and 2006. 2006. San Diego Association of Geologists. 978-0-916251-78-9. 78.
  18. Book: Pacific Rail News. 1995. Interurbans Publications. 44.
  19. Book: Reena Deutsch. San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. 2011. Arcadia Publishing. 978-0-7385-8148-4. 75.
  20. Book: Reena Deutsch. San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. 2011. Arcadia Publishing. 978-0-7385-8148-4. 76.
  21. News: The Canyoneers . 19 July 2017 . Get close but not too close to Carrizo Gorge trestle . San Diego Reader . 29 March 2018 .
    Book: Jerry Schad. Scott Turner. Afoot and Afield: San Diego County: 282 Spectacular Outings Along the Coast, Foothills, Mountains, and Desert. 20 February 2017. Wilderness Press. 978-0-89997-802-4. 1020.
  22. News: Beck . Darell . 1 December 2011 . On Memory's Back Trail: The Impossible Railroad . Ramona Home Journal . 29 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180218024048/http://ramonajournal.com/on-memorys-back-trail-the-impossible-railroad-p3872-209.htm . 18 February 2018 . dead .
    Book: Tony Huegel. California Desert Byways: 68 of California's Best Backcountry Drives. 21 December 2006. Wilderness Press. 978-0-89997-413-2. 168.
  23. Book: Reena Deutsch. San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. 2011. Arcadia Publishing. 978-0-7385-8148-4. 107.
  24. Book: Jerry Schad. 101 Hikes in Southern California: Exploring Mountains, Seashore, and Desert. 1996. Wilderness Press. 978-0-89997-193-3. 206.
  25. Book: Paul Remeika. Anne Aleda Sturz. Paleontology and Geology of the Western Salton Trough Detachment, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California. 1995. San Diego Geological Soc. 11.
  26. 15 August 2015 . Binational Rail: Connecting The Region . University of California, San Diego . 29 March 2018 .
    Book: Reena Deutsch. San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. 2011. Arcadia Publishing. 978-0-7385-8148-4. 116.
    Sanderson . Kirk . February 2004 . South County . San Diego Magazine . 29 March 2018 .
    SANDAG . San Diego Association of Governments . June 2007 . San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE) . 29 March 2018 .
  27. News: Hargrove . Dorian . 10 September 2014 . Crazy Train . San Diego Reader . 29 March 2018 .
  28. News: Hargrove . Dorian . 1 September 2016 . Binational railroad continues up steep grade . San Diego Reader . 29 March 2018 .
  29. Book: Lowell Lindsay. Diana Lindsay. Anza Borrego Desert Region: Your Complete Guide to the State Park and Adjacent Areas of the Western Colorado Desert. 10 October 2017. Wilderness Press. 978-0-89997-780-5. 434.
  30. News: Dibble . Sandra . 11 February 2013 . Rebuilding historic U.S.-Mexico rail link . San Diego Union-Tribune . 29 March 2018 .
  31. Web site: Trestle- California's Gold (1006) . . January 8, 1999 . Huell Howser Archives . . February 15, 2018 .
  32. News: Bell . Diane . 24 April 2018 . Brad Paisley launches album from Midway carrier deck . San Diego Union-Tribune . 29 March 2018 .
  33. News: Abcarian . Robin . 13 March 2018 . If Trump really wants to fix our border problems, he should visit the sewage pools, not his silly walls . Los Angeles Times . 28 March 2018 .
    News: . 14 October 2017 . Contamination forces volunteer group out of Goat Canyon trash pickup . KFMB . San Diego . 28 March 2018 .
    News: Graham . Marty . 2 March 2017 . Goat Canyon spills...black tea? . San Diego Reader . 28 March 2018 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Goat Canyon (Carrizo Gorge)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.