Providence Canyon

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I decided to take a day off from work and get out of the city. An urge brought on in part by him having a rental car that he had no problem putting miles on. So we decided to head south to a little place called Providence Canyon. Providence Canyon is located southwest of Columbus near a little town called Lumpkin. (Tip for travelers--eat in Columbus because the choices in Lumpkin are very limited.) This park has been on my "must-see" list for a long time, so I couldn't wait.



A little history about the park. Providence Canyon became a state park in 1971 to preserve what has become known at Georgia's Little Grand Canyon. The canyons are very young from a geological perspective. The canyons were formed by erosion due to poor farming practices started in the 1800s. By 1850, there were ditches 3- to 5-feet deep across the land. Now, some of the canyons are up to 150 feet deep. Several times over the years, attempts were made to slow or stop the erosion (including the planting of Kudzu). Most of these have been pretty unsuccessful. Recent plantings have slowed the erosion, but the ranger told us that the park still loses 3 to 5 feet from the canyon tops each year (which can be easily seen by changes in the fencing at the top of the canyon).



Some other factoids. Today's park covers 1,108 acres with 16 canyons (more outside the park are visible on the drive in). There are at least 43 different shades of soil visible in the canyons. And the park has the largest natural collection of the rare Plumleaf Azaelea, which blooms from July to September (not the one pictured here).

And a few more pictures.





(Totally unrelated, but for anybody who is keeping track. Yes, I have purchased several more pairs of socks. Don't ask me how many, because I don't know for sure.)