Mancos Shale Badlands/Million Dollar Highway

On Sunday, we headed north from Montrose to the Gunnison Gorge National Conservtion Area. This area features the unique Mancos Shale Badlands, which are hills, nearly barren of plant life, made of shale that washed out from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This was our first taste of a very arid environment. Denver Botanic Garden monitors the endangered endemic Eriogonum pelinophilum here. Its common name is clay-loving wild buckwheat and it does in fact grow in a very thick clay. We also saw another species of Calochortus here, C. nuttallii. It blooms in May however, so we only saw seed pods. The dominant shrubs were Atriplex sp. and Chenopodium sp.
 
While some of Gunnison Gorge is set aside as a conservation area, some is also open to recreational vehicles. The tracks of vehicles crisscrossed the hills, which definitely poses a threat to plants in the area.

We also searched nearby for Sclerocactus glaucus, the Colorado hookless cactus. While we didn't end up finding it, we did see some other interesting species in the pinyon-juniper woodland.

The last leg of our travel included the Million Dollar Highway, a stretch from Ouray to Silverton. It has very dramatic scenery, including the Red Mountains. We then traveled through Durango to spend the night at Mesa Verde National Park.

Mancos Shale Badlands

 

Vladimir holds an Eriogonum inflatum, an annual in this habitat, which has inflated stems during its growing season.

Calochortus nuttallii seedhead

 

A colorful desert tapestry at Gunnison Gorge.

 



A horny toad, probably my favorite reptile!

 

Eriogonum pelinophilum, a little past its prime.

 

Ephedra viridis, mormon tea, in a pinyon-juniper woodland.

 

 

Mirabilis multiflora, Colorado four o'clock

 

 

M. multiflora flowers, only about 25% of flowers produce viable seed.

 

Saxifraga bronchialis, yellowdot saxifrage, near a cascade along the Million Dollar Highway.

 

High iron content in the soil provides the color of the Red Mountain peaks. 

 

A sneak peak for the next blog: A view from Mesa Verde National Park!