Providence Canyon State Park

32°03′48″N 84°55′10″W / 32.063273°N 84.919511°W / 32.063273; -84.919511Area1,003 acres (4.06 km²)Elevation500 ft (150 m)Established1971^[1]OperatorGeorgia State Parks and Historic Sites

Providence Canyon State Outdoor Recreation Area is a 1,003-acre (405.90 ha) Georgia state park located in Stewart County in southwest Georgia, United States.^[2] The park contains Providence Canyon, which is sometimes called Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon". It is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. It is also home to the very rare plumleaf azalea.

One of the more unusual attractions of the state park is an abandoned homestead including nearly a dozen rusty, 1950s-era cars and trucks. Due to the environmental damage that removing the vehicles would cause, park officials have decided to leave them alone.

Canyon formation

Providence Canyon is not actually a purely natural feature: many of the massive gullies — the deepest of which is more than 150 feet (46 m) — are the result of erosion due to poor farming practices in the 19th century.^[3]

This story of the origin of the canyons has been commonplace since the 1940s, but the formations in the canyons are at least partially natural.^{[citation needed]} Although there were probably a few early arrivals before 1825, the first heavy influx of settlers in Stewart County only came after the Treaty of Indian Springs (1825), by which the Creek Indians were forced to cede all their lands east of the Chattahoochee River. Evidence of the existence of the canyons at this time includes their mention in a deed by James S. Lunsford to William Tatam from 1836.^{[citation needed]}

Geology

The park lies on marine sediments, usually loam or clay, with small areas of sand. Loamy sand topsoils overlie subsoils of sandy clay loam, sandy clay, or clay in most of the uneroded sections. Nankin, Cowarts, Mobila, and Orangeburg are the most prominent soil series. The canyons have significant exposure to clay, over which water often seeps. Water is mobile in this well-drained area.

Facilities

• 1,003 acres (406 ha)
• 2 picnic shelters
• 6 back country campsites
• 3 pioneer campsites

Yearly events

• Christmas Workshop (December)
• Astronomy Night (September)
• Fall Wildflower Day (October)
• Geology Day (October)
• Clown Flogging (December)

Images

• 
  Entrance sign
• 
  Providence Methodist Church
• 
  Interior of Providence Methodist Church
• 
  View from canyon rim
• 
  View from the canyon floor
• 
  Informational sign

See also

• Red Bluff, Mississippi

External link

Official website

References

Further reading

• Anonymous (n.d.). "Providence Canyon: Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites" (PDF) (Map). State Parks and Historic Sites. Cartersville: Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
• Bieler, Kevin M. & Hyatt, James A. (2007). Defining Down-Valley Stratigraphic Records of Human Induced Canyons in Southwest Georgia (PDF). Willimantic: Department of Environmental Earth Science, Eastern Connecticut State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
• Coastal Living Editor (May 2, 2008). "A Tree Grows Through an Abandoned Truck at Providence Canyon State Park". Southern Living. Retrieved February 16, 2013. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Hyatt, James A. (n.d.). Art and Science of Providence Canyon State Park in SW GA. Willimantic: Department of Environmental Earth Science, Eastern Connecticut State University. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
• Nicoulin, Amberlee; Hyatt, James A. & Drzewiecki, Peter (2010). Comparison of Vibracore Records of Massive Human-Induced Erosion at Providence Canyon State Park in Southwest Georgia (PDF). Willimantic: Department of Environmental Earth Science, Eastern Connecticut State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
• Nicoulin, Amberlee; Hyatt, James A. & Drzewiecki, Peter (n.d.). Comparison of Vibracore Records of Massive Human-Induced Erosion at Providence Canyon State Park in Southwest Georgia (PDF) (Poster). Willimantic: Connecticut Science Center, Eastern Connecticut State University. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
• Ostrowski, Todd J. & Hyatt, James A. (2004). Research on Sedimentary Records of Human Induced Erosion in Stewart County, South Georgia (PDF). Willimantic: Department of Environmental Earth Science, Eastern Connecticut State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
• Sutter, Paul S. (2015). Let Us Now Praise Famous Gullies: Providence Canyon and the Soils of the South. Athens: University of Georgia Press.

Federal

National Historical Parks, historic sites and military parks	Andersonville NHS Jimmy Carter NHP Martin Luther King Jr. NHP Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Ocmulgee Mounds NHP
National monuments	Fort Frederica Fort Pulaski
National forests	Chattahoochee–Oconee
National wildlife refuges	Banks Lake Blackbeard Island Bond Swamp Eufaula Harris Neck Okefenokee Piedmont Savannah Wassaw Wolf Island
National Natural Landmarks	Heggie's Rock Marshall Forest Okefenokee Swamp Panola Mountain Wassaw Island
Wilderness areas	Big Frog Wilderness Blood Mountain Wilderness Brasstown Wilderness Cohutta Wilderness Cumberland Island National Seashore Ellicott Rock Wilderness Mark Trail Wilderness Okefenokee Wilderness Raven Cliffs Wilderness Rich Mountain Wilderness Southern Nantahala Wilderness Tray Mountain Wilderness
Wild and scenic rivers	Chattooga River
National trails	Appalachian Trail Pinhoti National Recreation Trail
Other protected areas	Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Cumberland Island National Seashore Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve

State

Parks	Amicalola Falls Black Rock Mountain Chattahoochee Bend Cloudland Canyon Crooked River Don Carter Elijah Clark F.D. Roosevelt Florence Marina Fort Mountain Fort Yargo General Coffee George L. Smith George T. Bagby Georgia Veterans Hamburg Hard Labor Creek High Falls Indian Springs Jack Hill James H. "Sloppy" Floyd Laura S. Walker Little Ocmulgee Magnolia Springs Mistletoe Moccasin Creek Panola Mountain Providence Canyon Red Top Mountain Reed Bingham Richard B. Russell Sapelo Island Seminole Skidaway Island Smithgall Woods Sprewell Bluff Standing Boy Creek Stephen C. Foster Sweetwater Creek Tallulah Gorge Tugaloo Unicoi Victoria Bryant Vogel Watson Mill Bridge
Historic parks and sites	A. H. Stephens Chief Vann House Dahlonega Gold Museum Etowah Indian Mounds Fort McAllister Fort King George Fort Morris Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Jarrell Plantation Jefferson Davis Memorial Kolomoki Mounds Lapham–Patterson House Little White House New Echota Pickett's Mill Battlefield Robert Toombs House Travelers Rest Wormsloe
Forests	Bartram Broxton Rocks Dawson Dixon Memorial Hightower Paulding Spirit Creek
Other	Centennial Olympic Park Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Jekyll Island Len Foote Hike Inn Radium Springs Sapelo Island Stone Mountain Park

County,
municipal
and other

Parks	Bobby Brown Park Chehaw Park Cobb County Parks Hartwell Lakeside John Tanner McIntosh Reserve Murphey Candler Park Okefenokee Swamp Park Robert G. Hunter Memorial Park Roswell Recreation and Parks Seaborn Jones Memorial Park Shaking Rock Park
Forests and nature preserves	Autrey Mill Nature Preserve & Heritage Center Fernbank Forest Marshall Forest Morningside Nature Preserve Phinizy Swamp Nature Park Reynolds Nature Preserve
Nature and environmental education centers	Birdsong Nature Center Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Chattahoochee Nature Center Cochran Mill Nature Center Dauset Trails Nature Center Dunwoody Nature Center Elachee Nature Science Center Georgia Nature Center Grand Bay Wetland Education Center Melvin L. Newman Wetlands Center Oatland Island Wildlife Center Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center Panola Mountain State Park Nature Center Sandy Creek Nature Center Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum & Nature Center Tidelands Nature Center Tybee Island Marine Science Center West Atlanta Watershed Alliance Outdoor Activity Center