Georgia Magazine - July 2024 - 23

The rare plumleaf azalea grows in
southwest Georgia and blooms in late July
and early August at Providence Canyon.
Providence Canyon, Lumpkin in Stewart County
gastateparks.org/providencecanyon
Dubbed Georgia's " Little Grand Canyon, " Providence
Visitors who brave Cloudland Canyon's
600 steps are rewarded with up-close
views of two waterfalls.
1,000-foot sandstone cliffs that rise from its floor.
Sedimentary rock formed in this region during the
Pennsylvanian Age (between 298.9 million and 323.2 million
years ago), when the area included a sandy shoreline and a
shallow, muddy sea. The sand buried under
pressure eventually formed sandstone, and the mud
fossilized into shale. For tens of millions of years,
Bear Creek and Daniel Creek have cut through the
layers of shale and sandstone like a saw, slowly
eroding the rock and creating Cloudland Canyon.
" And the canyon is still being formed! " says
John Shelnutt, assistant park manager at Cloudland
Canyon State Park. " Visitors who walk past the
waterfalls are seeing the same process of erosion in
action that has been at work for millions of years. "
To take it all in, Shelnutt suggests hiking the
Overlook Trail, an easy, half-mile path that winds
along the rim with sweeping views of the rocky
terrain. For up-close views of Cherokee Falls and
Hemlock Falls, descend into the canyon via 600 stair
steps on the strenuous Waterfalls Trail.
" We have 16 miles of shared-use trails for
hikers, bikers and horses; campsites and cabins; an
18-hole disc-golf course; and a small fishing pond, "
Shelnutt says. " Our naturalists lead programs
throughout the year, and we even offer guided cave
tours, including tours of Sitton's Cave. "
This year's remaining cave tours will take place
this month, in September and in October.
Canyon features 150-foot walls painted by nature in hues of
orange, red and purple. But this dramatic landscape exists as a
result of poor farming practices of the 1800s.
" Settlers clear-cut the land and removed the trees and roots
to farm cotton here, " says Reba Bolton, an interpretive ranger at
the canyon. " They farmed up and down the hillsides with
mules, and when it rained, the water ran along the crop rows
and created deep gullies. That was the beginning of the canyon. "
She explains that each torrential rainfall led to even deeper
gullies, exposing both the clay and the sandy soil of the coastal
plain. The area is also abundant in dark-gray hematite, softwhite
kaolin and yellowish limonite, all of which were mined in
the late 1800s and early 1900s and all of which help to give the
canyon its colorful profile.
Visitors enjoy hiking the Canyon Loop Trail, a 2.5-mile,
easy-to-moderate path that winds along the creek bed and
delivers views of the canyons created over time as well as a
collection of old, rusted cars being swallowed by the trees. The
cars were abandoned near the site of an old homestead prior to
the foundation of the state park, and they now serve as unique
habitats for several species of animals.
" In late July and early August, a lot of visitors come to see
the fiery red blooms of the plumleaf azaleas, " Bolton says. " It's a
rare plant that only grows here in southwest Georgia and
eastern Alabama. "
In addition to hiking, camping and picnicking, visitors to
Providence Canyon State Park can enjoy a few Astronomy
Nights each year, presented by Columbus State University and
the Coca-Cola Space Science Center in Columbus.
" The night sky is gorgeous here, and we are working to get
our dark-sky certification, " she says. " We invite everyone to
come out this November, see the canyon and enjoy an evening
of stargazing at the park. "
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GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
REBA BOLTON
http://gastateparks.org/providencecanyon http://www.georgiamagazine.org
Georgia Magazine - July 2024

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