The material destruction he had already accomplished would do the work of ending resistance more effectively than pursuing people through canyon terrain.

This calculation was correct.

The Landscape Today

Palo Duro Canyon is now a Texas state park — Palo Duro Canyon State Park — one of the largest state parks in Texas, encompassing some 29,000 acres of the canyon and surrounding terrain.

The canyon’s physical character has not changed dramatically since 1874.

The walls are still red and orange and yellow.

The Prairie Dog Town Fork still runs through the canyon bottom.

The juniper trees for which the canyon is named still grow on the slopes.