Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Despite taking in what the Green, Yampa, and other tributaries large and small contribute, the Colorado River is in a death spiral, over-allocated and a victim of growing climate change, left in a state of constant thirst that has made the river the most-endangered in the country, according to American Rivers.

I really didn’t know exactly what to expect when I pulled up to the first overlook at Black Canyon. But when I walked to the edge of the canyon at Tomichi Point and looked down, the only thing I could think was "Oh, my goodness!"

Thoughts by the National Park Service to ban commercial climbing outfitters from wilderness areas in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado are being reined in after three U.S. senators raised concerns over the impact of a ban.

Some of the most magnificent national parks of the Southwest owe their rugged beauty to the Colorado River and its tributaries. Unfortunately, dams that have sprung up along the river have changed the water flows in a way detrimental to these national parks, according to a report from the National Parks Conservation Association.

If you've ever sat back in El Capitan Meadow in Yosemite National Park to watch climbers ascending that massive granite wall from which the meadow takes its name, odds are you never noticed the "hundreds" of fixed anchors climbers have over the years drilled into that monolith. And yet, they're there.

How best can Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park be photographed? Let professional photographer QT Luong highlight the way for you.

Hemmed in by ancient volcanic rocks, the Gunnison River carved a narrow canyon with monolithic rock walls that rise over 2,000 feet above the river. The numbers tell the story of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.