Palo Duro Canyon is located 12.4 miles east of Canyon, Texas, and homes the second largest canyon in the United States.

Palo Duro Canyon was carved by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. Palo Duro Canyon measures 120 miles long and up to 20 miles wide.

Because of the water that carved away the rock and minerals, park visitors are able to see over 800 ft. of bright rock layers.

The rock layers within the canyon are from the Mesozoic Era, dating back 200 million years. Crazy!

Although the climate in Palo Duro Canyon is very dry and has limited water resources, there is a lot of life that flourishes in this climate.

Plants such as cactus and native grasses survive the heat and help feed local animals such as deer and birds.

When it rains, which doesn't occur very often, everything turns green and flourishes from the rain.

Summers in the canyon can get very hot, usually hitting 100 degrees everyday, and heatwaves that can get up to 120 degrees in temperature.