Cathedral Gorge

Ash, a lake, and soft clay

Cathedral Gorge is a long, narrow valley in southeastern Nevada. Nevada State Parks says erosion has shaped soft bentonite clay there, and that the spires and cliffs formed over tens of millions of years. It says explosive volcanic eruptions laid down ash layers hundreds of feet thick, and names the Caliente Caldera Complex, south of the park, as the source.

A museum audio tour and a Nevada travel site describe the same sequence. Faulting made a depression now called Meadow Valley. It filled with water and became a freshwater lake, and streams carried eroded ash and pumice into it. More faulting drained the lake, and wind and rain then wore down the exposed silt, clay and ash into the spires and cliffs seen today. The museum tour puts the faulting about 5 million years after the eruptions ended. The travel site says volcanic activity stopped about 5 million years ago, which is not quite the same statement, and the state parks page gives only the broader tens of millions of years. A Las Vegas Review-Journal article adds that the buff-colored clay looks best in early or late light, when shadows are sharpest.

People and the park

The state parks page says the Fremont, Anasazi and Southern Paiute peoples once lived here. The Nevada travel site names the Fremont, Ancestral Puebloan and Paiute peoples, and says settlers arrived after the 1860s to homestead and mine. It says that in 1894 Mrs. W.S. Godbe, wife of a prominent Pioche mining figure, rode into the gulch, compared the rock to European architecture, and named it “Cathedral Gulch.” By the 1920s the gorge hosted Easter ceremonies and served as a vaudeville backdrop.

Governor James Scrugham set the land aside in 1924. The travel site says the Civilian Conservation Corps arrived in 1934 and built a water tower, a picnic ramada, restrooms and the Miller Point gazebo. The gazebo is named for Col. Thomas Miller, who led the CCC and later served on the first state park commission. The water tower was later abandoned because of poor water quality from the well. In 1935 Cathedral Gorge became one of Nevada’s first four state parks.

Sources give different sizes for the park. The state parks page says nearly 2,000 acres. The Review-Journal article says more than 1,600 acres.

Visiting today

The visitor center is at the park entrance off U.S. 93. Nevada State Parks lists the park as open seven days a week, year-round, with the visitor center open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed on winter holidays. Day use is $5 per vehicle, or $10 for non-Nevada vehicles, according to the state parks page. An older Review-Journal article gave a different fee, so confirm the current amount with the park.

The state parks page lists a four-mile loop through the park’s remote sections and a one-mile trail between the Miller Point overlook and the picnic area. The Review-Journal says the loop reaches slot canyons and cave-like overhangs. The park has 22 campsites with tables, grills and shade ramadas. Water and flush restrooms with showers are open year-round, and stays are limited to 14 days in any 30-day period.

The park’s rules ask visitors to stay on trails, drive only on designated roads, keep pets on a leash no longer than six feet, and keep drones out of the park. Removing or damaging rocks, plants, fossils, artifacts or historic structures is prohibited. Leave anything you find where it is. The Review-Journal describes spring and fall as the most comfortable seasons, with very hot summers and quite cold winters. Conditions change, so check road and weather conditions with the park at 775-728-8101 before going.