Goat Canyon (Carrizo Gorge)

Goat Canyon is a valley in San Diego County, California, United States, located within the Carrizo Gorge in the Jacumba Mountains.[2][1] The rock forming the canyon is crystalline basement.[3] One feature of the canyon is a dry waterfall.[4] The canyon is bridged by a wooden railroad trestle, the Goat Canyon Trestle,[2][5] which is the world's largest curved all-wood trestle.[6] The canyon is accessible by trail by traveling west from Mortero Palms.[7]

Goat Canyon
The canyon with Goat Canyon Trestle
Floor elevation1,690 ft (520 m)[1]
AreaJacumba Mountains[2]
Geography
LocationCarrizo Gorge[2]
Coordinates32°43′57″N 116°11′23″W [1]

Flora and fauna

Goat Canyon is named after desert bighorn sheep that live within and around the canyon.[8] During a desert bloom, which occurred in 2017, monkey flowers were observed flowering in the canyon.[9] The endangered species least Bell's vireo migrates through the area around the canyon.[10]

Human history
Panoramic photograph of Goat Canyon Trestle and Tunnel number 15

Prior to Spanish governance, there was Native American activity in the area around Goat Canyon;[11] the impact of this activity includes petroglyphs and pictograms in Carrizo Gorge.[12] The last Native Americans to live in the area were the Kumeyaay.[13] Later cattle ranchers utilized the area.[14] Beginning in 1912, construction began on the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway in the area.[13] The Carrizo Gorge portion of the line, including Goat Canyon, was the final portion to be completed.[15] A railroad tunnel of The San Diego and Arizona Railway, Tunnel number 15, was built into the side of the canyon but it collapsed in 1932.[16] The collapse was caused by an earthquake, which dramatically changed the inclination of Tunnel number 15.[17] After Tunnel number 15 collapsed, it was decided that it would be bypassed using a wooden trestle.[18] During the construction of the trestle, segments were lowered into the canyon from the partially completed trestle.[19] Construction workers took breaks in a portion of the collapsed tunnel that they called the "mud shed".[20] The trestle was completed in 1933.[21]

In 1976 Hurricane Kathleen's effects impacted the region around the canyon, destroying tracks and other trestles in Carrizo Gorge;[22] the trestle over Goat Canyon was also damaged, with some of its footings destroyed during the hurricane.[23] By 1981, repairs from the hurricane damage were completed.[24] Heavy rains returned to the area in 1982 and 1983;[25] this led to rail service being discontinued over Goat Canyon and through Carrizo Gorge.[26] After repairs were again completed, trains once again ran over Goat Canyon in 2004.[5][27][28][29] In 2008 the trains once again stopped running over Goat Canyon.[27][28][30]

In 1999, Huell Howser traveled to the canyon to visit the trestle over it.[31] In 2017, the canyon was depicted in a "Mysteries of the Abandoned" episode on the Science Channel.[32]

Other uses

There is another Goat Canyon in San Diego County, which is located north of the Mexico–United States barrier and south of the Tijuana River.[33]

References
  1. "Goat Canyon". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 19 January 1981. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. Sheri McGregor (4 January 2007). Day and Overnight Hikes: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Menasha Ridge Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-89732-769-5.
  3. James R. Evans (1988). Landslides in Crystalline Basement Terrain: Annual Field Trip 1988. San Diego Association of Geologists.
  4. Baran, Robert (29 May 2010). "Goat Canyon Trestle Trek". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  5. Japenga, Ann (30 March 2004). "Rail renegades". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  6. Bell, Diane (19 April 2017). "Science Channel spotlights marvel in San Diego's back yard". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  7. Lowell Lindsay; Diana Lindsay (10 October 2017). Anza Borrego Desert Region: Your Complete Guide to the State Park and Adjacent Areas of the Western Colorado Desert. Wilderness Press. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-89997-780-5.
    Jerry Schad; Scott Turner (20 February 2017). Afoot and Afield: San Diego County: 282 Spectacular Outings Along the Coast, Foothills, Mountains, and Desert. Wilderness Press. pp. 1034–1035. ISBN 978-0-89997-802-4.
  8. The Canyoneers (19 July 2017). "Get close but not too close to Carrizo Gorge trestle". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  9. Brandis, Jack (6 April 2017). "Weekend Driver: Flowergeddon". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  10. "Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan and Record of Decision" (PDF). El Centro Field Office. Bureau of Land Management. October 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  11. Preliminary Wilderness Recommendations for the Eastern San Diego County Planning Unit: Department of the Interior Final Environmental Impact Statement. The Bureau. 1986. p. 61.
  12. American Antiquity. Society for American Archaeology. 1943. p. 160.
    Don Gennero (2009). "Desert Don's Native American Rock Art Gallery". University of San Diego. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    Baran, Robert (3 April 2010). "Desert Treasure". San Diego Reader. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018. Alt URL
    Dennis Slifer; Museum of New Mexico. Press (2000). The serpent and the sacred fire: fertility images in Southwest rock art. Museum of New Mexico Press. p. 77. ISBN 9780890133460.
    Fred Hirschmann; Scott Thybony (1994). Rock Art of the American Southwest. Graphic Arts Center Pub. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-55868-163-7.
  13. The Canyoneers (8 April 2015). "How did this support life?". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  14. Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement. 2007.
    Thomson, Heather; Wade, Sue (2009). "Attachment I: San Diego County Ranching Interviews" (PDF). The Warner-Carrillo Ranch House. Save Our Heritage Organization. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    Lawrence Hogue (May 2000). All the Wild and Lonely Places: Journeys In A Desert Landscape. Island Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-59726-336-8.
  15. Price, James N. (Spring 1988). "The Railroad Stations of San Diego County". The Journal of San Diego History. San Diego Historical Society. 34 (2). Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    O'Bannon, Patrick (Fall 1979). "Railroad Construction in the Early Twentieth Century: The San Diego and Arizona Railway". Southern California Quarterly. University of California Press. 61 (3): 255–290. doi:10.2307/41170830. JSTOR 41170830.
  16. The Canyoneers (19 July 2017). "Get close but not too close to Carrizo Gorge trestle". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  17. Brennen, Christopher (10 February 2001). "Adventure Hikes and Canyooneering In The Southwest". Caltech. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    surfponto (23 February 2009). "Goat Canyon Trestle Revisited". anzaborrego.net. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    Phillip T. Farquharson; David M. Bloom; Carole L. Ziegler (2006). Geology and History of Southeastern San Diego County, California: San Diego Association of Geologists for 2005 and 2006. San Diego Association of Geologists. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-916251-78-9.
  18. Pacific Rail News. Interurbans Publications. 1995. p. 44.
  19. Reena Deutsch (2011). San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-7385-8148-4.
  20. Reena Deutsch (2011). San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-7385-8148-4.
  21. The Canyoneers (19 July 2017). "Get close but not too close to Carrizo Gorge trestle". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    Jerry Schad; Scott Turner (20 February 2017). Afoot and Afield: San Diego County: 282 Spectacular Outings Along the Coast, Foothills, Mountains, and Desert. Wilderness Press. p. 1020. ISBN 978-0-89997-802-4.
  22. Beck, Darell (1 December 2011). "On Memory's Back Trail: The Impossible Railroad". Ramona Home Journal. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    Tony Huegel (21 December 2006). California Desert Byways: 68 of California's Best Backcountry Drives. Wilderness Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-89997-413-2.
  23. Reena Deutsch (2011). San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-7385-8148-4.
  24. Jerry Schad (1996). 101 Hikes in Southern California: Exploring Mountains, Seashore, and Desert. Wilderness Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-89997-193-3.
  25. Paul Remeika; Anne Aleda Sturz (1995). Paleontology and Geology of the Western Salton Trough Detachment, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California. San Diego Geological Soc. p. 11.
  26. Binational Rail: Connecting The Region (PDF) (Report). University of California, San Diego. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    Reena Deutsch (2011). San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-7385-8148-4.
    Sanderson, Kirk (February 2004). "South County". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
    SANDAG (June 2007). San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE) (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  27. Hargrove, Dorian (10 September 2014). "Crazy Train". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  28. Hargrove, Dorian (1 September 2016). "Binational railroad continues up steep grade". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  29. Lowell Lindsay; Diana Lindsay (10 October 2017). Anza Borrego Desert Region: Your Complete Guide to the State Park and Adjacent Areas of the Western Colorado Desert. Wilderness Press. p. 434. ISBN 978-0-89997-780-5.
  30. Dibble, Sandra (11 February 2013). "Rebuilding historic U.S.-Mexico rail link". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  31. "Trestle- California's Gold (1006)". Huell Howser Archives. Chapman University. 8 January 1999. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  32. Bell, Diane (24 April 2018). "Brad Paisley launches album from Midway carrier deck". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  33. Abcarian, Robin (13 March 2018). "If Trump really wants to fix our border problems, he should visit the sewage pools, not his silly walls". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
    "Contamination forces volunteer group out of Goat Canyon trash pickup". KFMB. San Diego. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
    Graham, Marty (2 March 2017). "Goat Canyon spills...black tea?". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
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