Providence Canyon SP is located just 8 miles from Florence Marina SP. Providence Canyon is not really a natural formation. Back in the early 1800s, farmers and their underpaid staff, cut down all the trees and cleared the land for cotton. They planted the cotton on the hillsides. Since the roots of the trees and all the other native plants were no longer holding the soil in place, when it rained the soil eroded. After just a few years a significant gully had begun to form. 200 years later the gully is 250 deep in places and covers over 1000 acres. Thank goodness for ignorant farmers, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to enjoy the hike we took today. One reason the erosion was so rapid is because the underlying soil is sand. Many different types and colors of sand. We will return there tomorrow because there are several side canyons we did not explore. More tomorrow.
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