THE BOULDERS OF TEXAS CANYON

TEXAS CANYON

The jumbled boulders of Texas Canyon greet travelers along Interstate 10 east of Benson like so many pink and orange hoodoos, ghosts of the Earth's violent geologic past. Named for the home state of a stranded pioneer family who settled near the strange, weathered rocks of the quartz monzonite porphyry, the canyon houses boulders nearly 240 million years old. Their blush comes from the erosion of iron-bearing minerals, and the rocky outcrops continue to break down, spalling into ever-smaller pieces.

Originally named Quercus Canyon, which means dwarf oak canyon, for the trees that grow throughout the area, Texas Canyon became an important pass for the Butterfield Stage in the 1850s. After the stage line was renewed following the Civil War, travelers continued to traverse the area. On today's modern roadways, drivers can view the canyon as they travel through it along Interstate 10 between Benson and Dragoon or see it up close by exiting at Benson and following the back road to Dragoon. - Jeb Stuart Rosebrook OPPOSITE PAGE Formed by weathering along the intricate fault lines of the giant granitelike rocks that crowd its confines, the monoliths, boulders, balanced rocks and hoodoos of Texas Canyon display the sculptural drama of the elements.

LEFT Sunrise accentuates the pink and orange tints of the Texas Canyon landscape.

RIGHT The geology of Texas Canyon served as mute witness to the human drama of the opening of the Old West. Cochise and the Chiricahua Apaches, the Butterfield Stage, the U.S. Cavalry, countless settlers and fortune-seekers all traversed its rocky expanse.

A PORT FOLIO LEFT

Light from the pre-sunrise sky casts a shadowless glow on massive domes in the canyon.

ABOVE

Anvil Rock maintains a hold on the polished face of a rocky slope.