Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area (Little Grand Canyon)
Providence Canyon, from the rim
Map showing the location of Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area (Little Grand Canyon)
Map showing the location of Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area (Little Grand Canyon)
Location of Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area in Georgia
Map showing the location of Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area (Little Grand Canyon)
Map showing the location of Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area (Little Grand Canyon)
Providence Canyon State Park (the United States)
LocationStewart County, Georgia, US
Coordinates32°03′48″N 84°55′10″W / 32.063273°N 84.919511°W / 32.063273; -84.919511
Area1,003 acres (4.06 km2)
Elevation500 ft (150 m)
Established1971[1]
OperatorGeorgia State Parks and Historic Sites

Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area is a 1,003-acre (405.90 ha) Georgia state park located in Stewart County in southwest Georgia, United States.[2] The park contains Providence Canyon, which is sometimes called Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon". It is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. It is also home to the very rare plumleaf azalea.

One of the quirkier attractions of the state park is an abandoned homestead including nearly a dozen rusty, 1950s-era cars and trucks. Due to the environmental damage that removing the vehicles would cause, park officials have decided to leave them alone.

Canyon formation

Providence Canyon is not actually a purely natural feature: many of the massive gullies — the deepest of which is more than 150 feet (46 m) — are the result of erosion due to poor farming practices in the 19th century.[3]

This story of the origin of the canyons has been commonplace since the 1940s, but the formations in the canyons are at least partially natural. Although there were probably a few early arrivals before 1825, the first heavy influx of settlers in Stewart County only came after the Treaty of Indian Springs (1825), by which the Creek Indians were forced to cede all their lands east of the Chattahoochee River. Evidence of the existence of the canyons at this time includes their mention in a deed by James S. Lunsford to William Tatam from 1836.

Geology

The park lies on marine sediments, usually loam or clay, with small areas of sand. Loamy sand topsoils overlie subsoils of sandy clay loam, sandy clay, or clay in most of the uneroded sections. Nankin, Cowarts, Mobila, and Orangeburg are the most prominent soil series. The canyons have significant exposure to clay, over which water often seeps. Water is mobile in this well-drained area.

Facilities

  • 1,003 acres (406 ha)
  • 2 picnic shelters
  • 6 back country campsites
  • 3 pioneer campsites

Yearly events

  • Christmas Workshop (December)
  • Astronomy Night (September)
  • Fall Wildflower Day (October)
  • Geology Day (October)
  • Clown Flogging (December)

Images

See also

References

  1. Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 182. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
  2. "Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area Official Website". Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  3. Sutter, Paul S. (2010). "What Gullies Mean: Georgia's 'Little Grand Canyon' and Southern Environmental History". Journal of Southern History. Vol. 76, no. 3. p. 579. Retrieved February 20, 2018.

Further reading

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