Many people have assisted in the preparation of _The Geologic Story of Palo Duro Canyon_, and their help is gratefully acknowledged: Professor Jack T. Hughes, Dr. Frank W. Daugherty, Dr. Robert C. Burton, Meade Humphries, and Jim Hughes of the West Texas State University Geology Department provided much information about the area and assisted in the field; help was also provided by Mr. Pete Cowart, Mr. Earl Burtz, Mr. Jerry Tschauner, Mr. Bob Watson, Mr. King, and other park personnel; Mr. C. Boone McClure, of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, furnished some of the photographs; Mr. J. Dan Scurlock, Mr. Bill Collins, and Mr. Harold Allums, of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, made available certain maps and statistical data; Mrs. Ples Harper of Canyon assisted in assembling information and photographs for the Pioneer Amphitheatre; and the aerial photograph of Palo Duro Canyon was taken by Mr. W. A. Hester and made available through the courtesy of Mr. Charles A. Wolflin of Amarillo. Drs. Peter T. Flawn, Peter U. Rodda, and Ross A. Maxwell of the Bureau of Economic Geology read much of the manuscript and offered many helpful suggestions, and Mr. A. Richard Smith provided special information on caves in the Palo Duro area. Special thanks are due to Miss Josephine Casey who edited the manuscript and to Mr. J. W. Macon, cartographer, who assumed responsibility for preparing the maps. Thanks are due also to my wife, Jennie, who critically read the manuscript and took a number of the photographs. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. J. Daniel Powell of The University of Texas at Arlington for invaluable assistance in the field and his enthusiastic co-operation throughout the project. PARK HISTORY Palo Duro Canyon’s long and colorful past has created considerable interest among historians, archeologists, and geologists. Historians have traced the written history of man and his effect on the Palo Duro area, but archeologists have delved much further into the past. They have sought out and studied the more enduring records of the canyon’s early inhabitants—their tools, utensils, and weapons. The geologist, however, is interested in history that far antedates even the most primitive human inhabitant of the canyon. The earth scientist has probed the geologic record of the Palo Duro area, using rocks, minerals, and fossils as clues to the geologic history and development of the canyon. Palo Duro Canyon is unique among Texas’ State parks because of its many contributions to history, archeology, and geology. Here the written record, the artifacts of prehistoric man, and the geologic formations overlap and complement each other in many respects. Although this guidebook is primarily concerned with the geologic history of the canyon, a brief review of its human history is also included. ANCIENT MAN IN PALO DURO CANYON