Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison
IUCN category II (national park)
Gunnison River in Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Location	Montrose County, Colorado, United States
Nearest city	Montrose
Coordinates	38°34′48″N 107°43′39″W
Area	30,750 acres (124.4 km2)
Established	October 21, 1999
Visitors	357,069 (in 2023)
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	nps.gov/blca

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a national park of the United States. It is in western Colorado. The National Park Service manages it. It became a national monument in 1933. It then became a national park on October 21, 1999. The park has a part of the Gunnison River going through it. The river also goes through Curecanti National Recreation Area and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area. It is named Black Canyon because it is hard for sunlight to get into the canyon. This makes the walls of the canyon very dark.

The national park has many plants and animals living in it. The Black Canyon gilia (Aliciella penstemonoides) is a wildflower that is native to the park. Some plants in the park are aspen, sagebrush, single-leaf ash and Utah juniper. Some animals are the pronghorn, coyote, muskrat, bobcat and mule deer.