Royal Gorge

Royal Gorge, 10 mi (16 km) long, narrow canyon cut by the Arkansas River, S central Colo., often called the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas. The gorge was discovered in 1806 by an expedition led by U.S. explorer Zebulon Pike. Its near-vertical walls are more than 1,000 ft (305 m) high. One of the world's highest suspension bridges, 1,053 ft (321 m) above the river, crosses the canyon, and a cable railway ascends the canyon wall.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.