Golden Gate Canyon Explained

Golden Gate Canyon
Photo Width:290
Coordinates:44.9367°N -110.7225°W
Location:Yellowstone National Park, Park County, Wyoming
Elevation:6496feet

Golden Gate Canyon is in the northwestern region of Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming.[1] Glen Creek flows north through the canyon en route to the Gardner River descending from at Kingman Pass to just under in less than . The northern portion of the Grand Loop Road traverses the canyon, connecting Mammoth Hot Springs with park features to the south.[2]

A road was first built through the Golden Gate in 1884–85, replacing a steep, difficult road over Snow Pass. The construction was directed by U.S. Army Lieutenant Dan Christie Kingman. The canyon's name Golden Gate was first documented by Kingman in his reports to the Departments of the Army and Interior as what visitors to the park called the canyon and pass because of the yellow hue of the rocks in the area.[3] The work included a wooden trestle where a cliff face precluded grading.[4] In 1900 the viaduct was rebuilt as a concrete structure under the supervision of Captain Hiram M. Chittenden. Chittenden's viaduct was replaced in turn in 1930–34, the outcome of a program to widen the road.[5] The widened viaduct was itself replaced in 1977.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. 1588963. Golden Gate Canyon. 2011-02-12.
  2. Web site: Mammoth, WY . Map. USGS Quad. TopoQuest . 2011-02-12.
  3. Web site: Part One: The History of the Construction of the Road System in Yellowstone National Park, 1827-1966 and the History of the Grand Loop and the Entrance Roads, CHAPTER II: THE GENESIS OF NATIONAL PARK ROAD STANDARDS 1883-1890 . National Park Service . 2012-06-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131220225501/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/yell_roads/hrs1-2.htm . 2013-12-20 .
  4. Book: Haines, Aubrey L.. The Yellowstone Story: A History of Our First National Park. 1996. University Press of Colorado. 0-87081-390-0. 215.
  5. Haines, pp.225-227
  6. Web site: Yellowstone's Golden Gate . Yellowstone Online Tours . National Park Service . 13 February 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100530025154/http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/features/vr/goldgate.htm . 30 May 2010 .