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Royal Gorge Railroad

Canon City, Colorado

CM1_2441 (640x495).jpg

This picture, of a bridge spanning the Arkansas River, was taken from a small park adjacent to the Royal Gorge Route Railroad’s station in Cañon City, CO.  The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley, where the headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Sawatch and Mosquito mountain ranges. It then flows east into the Midwest via Kansas, and finally into the South through Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Picture Number: CM1_2441

Date: September 2018

Camera: Nikon D7100

ISO: 200     Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

F-Stop: f/10     Lens: 48 mm

The Royal Gorge is a canyon of the Arkansas River located west of Cañon City, Colorado. The canyon begins at the mouth of Grape Creek about 2 mi west of central Cañon City and continues in a west-northwesterly direction for approximately 6 mi until ending near U.S. Route 50. Being one of the deepest canyons in Colorado, it is also known as the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas (River), with a maximum depth of 1,250 ft. The canyon is also very narrow, measuring from 50 ft wide at its base to 300 ft wide at its top, as it carves a path through the granite formations below Fremont Peak and YMCA Mountain, which rise above the north and south rims, respectively.  This picture shows the train (proceeding North) at one of the narrower sections of the canyon.

Picture Number: CM1_2546

Date: September 2018

Camera: Nikon D7100

ISO: 110     Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec

F-Stop: f/11     Lens: 90 mm

CM1_2546 (640x495).jpg
CM1_2599 (640x495).jpg

The Royal Gorge is a canyon of the Arkansas River located west of Cañon City, Colorado. The canyon begins at the mouth of Grape Creek about 2 mi west of central Cañon City and continues in a west-northwesterly direction for approximately 6 mi until ending near U.S. Route 50. Being one of the deepest canyons in Colorado, it is also known as the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas (River), with a maximum depth of 1,250 ft. The canyon is also very narrow, measuring from 50 ft wide at its base to 300 ft wide at its top, as it carves a path through the granite formations below Fremont Peak and YMCA Mountain, which rise above the north and south rims, respectively.  This picture shows the train (proceeding North) at one of the narrower sections of the canyon.  If you look closely you will see that the outside (left) rail has been laid on a platform OVER the Arkansas River.  This is because it was not possible to cut the roadbed any further back into cliff face.

Picture Number: CM1_2599

Date: September 2018

Camera: Nikon D7100

ISO: 100     Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec

F-Stop: f/11     Lens: 140 mm

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