Goat Canyon (Carrizo Gorge) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Goat Canyon |
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The canyon with Goat Canyon Trestle
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| Floor elevation | 1,690 ft (520 m) |
| Area | Jacumba Mountains |
| Geography | |
| Location | Carrizo Gorge |
Goat Canyon is a valley in San Diego County, California, United States. It's part of the Carrizo Gorge area, which is in the Jacumba Mountains. This canyon is known for its unique features, like a dry waterfall.
One of the most famous things about Goat Canyon is the huge wooden railroad bridge that crosses it. This bridge is called the Goat Canyon Trestle. It's special because it's the world's largest curved all-wood trestle! You can reach the canyon by following a trail from a place called Mortero Palms.
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Animals and Plants of Goat Canyon
Goat Canyon gets its name from the desert bighorn sheep that live there. These amazing animals roam in and around the canyon.
During a special time called a desert bloom, which happened in 2017, many beautiful flowers appeared. One type of flower seen blooming in the canyon was the monkey flower.
The area around Goat Canyon is also important for birds. An endangered species called the least Bell's vireo travels through this region. This means it's a very important place for these rare birds.
Goat Canyon's Past: A Human Story
Long ago, before Spanish rule in California, Native American people lived around Goat Canyon. You can still see signs of their presence, like petroglyphs (pictures carved into rock) and pictograms (pictures painted on rock) in the nearby Carrizo Gorge. The last Native American group to live here were the Kumeyaay people. Later, cattle ranchers used the land.
Building the Railroad
In 1912, work started on the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway. The part of the railway that went through Carrizo Gorge, including Goat Canyon, was the last section to be finished.
A railroad tunnel, called Tunnel 15, was built into the side of Goat Canyon. But in 1932, an earthquake caused the tunnel to collapse. The earthquake changed how the tunnel was angled, making it unsafe.
Because Tunnel 15 collapsed, engineers decided to build a wooden bridge to go around it instead. This was how the famous Goat Canyon Trestle came to be! During its construction, parts of the bridge were carefully lowered into the canyon. The workers even took breaks in a part of the collapsed tunnel they called the "mud shed." The trestle was finally finished in 1933.
Challenges and Repairs
In 1976, a big storm called Hurricane Kathleen hit the area. It damaged the railroad tracks and other bridges in Carrizo Gorge. The Goat Canyon Trestle was also hurt, with some of its supports getting destroyed.
By 1981, all the damage from the hurricane was fixed. But then, in 1982 and 1983, heavy rains returned. This caused trains to stop running over Goat Canyon and through Carrizo Gorge for a while. After more repairs were completed, trains started running again over Goat Canyon in 2004. However, in 2008, the trains stopped running over Goat Canyon once more.
Goat Canyon in Media
Goat Canyon and its famous trestle have even appeared on TV!
- In 1999, a TV host named Huell Howser visited the canyon to see the trestle.
- In 2017, Goat Canyon was shown in an episode of "Mysteries of the Abandoned" on the Science Channel.
