Black Point Canyon is located within Tucki Mountain, being roughly situated between Stretched-Pebble Canyon and Telephone Canyon. It is not very well known, yet proves to have a lot to offer to hikers. For one thing, it is located very close to Stovepipe Wells. In fact, it is only about a five minute drive from Stovepipe to the parking area turnout along the highway just past the 1,000 foot elevation sign. And contrary to my low expectations going into the hike, Black Point Canyon actually delivered some very interesting scenery, dry falls, and narrows. The scenery comes in the form of colorful hillsides and an abundance of breccia rock walls and chutes, which are very similar to what is found in Mosaic Canyon. The breccia can also be described as natural concrete and it is quite interesting to examine it up close and see how the water flow has polished the mixture of rocks down until they are even with each other and smooth to the touch (as seen in the logo image above). In Black Point Canyon, I found about 5 times as much breccia as what is contained in Mosaic Canyon. To my surprise, a little over one week later I hiked Indian Pass Canyon and found about 25 times as much breccia as what was found in Black Point Canyon. Since Black Point Canyon is a family-friendly hike (at least up to the 1st major dry fall), someday I will go back in and hike the upper canyon with my wife. (Note: click on the Google Earth route map below to enlarge it for better viewing.)
Looking over at the outer face of Black Point from Hwy. 190:
Heading up Black Point Canyon by aiming for the right corner where the black rocks disappear:
The early part of the canyon is defined by rolling hills on each side:
Garbage from the old Stovepipe Wells dump site, which is in Black Point Canyon. Hopefully, in the near future a volunteer group will be assigned to clean up this mess:
Looking out the mouth of Black Point Canyon towards the Cottonwood Mountains:
The hillsides grew taller as I got further into the early canyon:
Looking up at Tucki Mountain as seen from lower Black Point Canyon:
Interesting white rocks in the next two pictures:
First sign of the breccia in Black Point Canyon, which would be on canyon walls, dry falls, and trenches. Keep in mind that there is a difference in breccia and conglomerate rock. In breccia the large particles are angular in shape but in conglomerate the particles are rounded:
Notice how this trench looks like it had its walls formed by concrete:
Here you can see how the water flowing for many years has polished and evened out the various rocks set into the natural concrete:
An interesting towering formation with a natural arch on the left side in the next two pictures:
Heading up a small section of narrows in the next two pictures:
In the following three pictures you can see various natural designs and formations:
A huge breccia wall which was taller than me. Outcrops like this of breccia are thought to have formed from debris flow deposits:
Patches of breccia would appear frequently heading up the canyon:
Reaching the colorful section of Black Point Canyon, which is 2 miles and 900 feet of elevation gain from the starting point:
The next four pictures show you some of the vibrant colors through this section, including orange, purple, tan, and red:
Reaching a couple of breccia dry falls just past the colorful section:
Check out the mosaic of beautifully colored rocks sculpted together on this dry fall:
Three more pictures of this particular dry fall and trench next to it. The patterns are simply amazing to behold:
Reaching twin dry falls which are easy to climb or bypass:
Another colorful section while rounding a bend and heading for the middle canyon:
Approaching the 1st major dry fall, which is 2 1/2 miles into the hike:
A beautifully enclosed narrow section leading to the 1st major dry fall:
Four pictures of the 1st major dry fall and rock with white veins running through it:
Above the dry fall and continuing up canyon:
Up ahead, it appeared that the canyon rose sharply around the next two bends. Such quick elevation gain is usually a sign of dry falls and narrows to come:
Sure enough, I was stunned to walk into the 1st narrows of Black Point Canyon:
The beginning of the narrows had tall breccia walls on each side:
The first small dry fall to climb up in the narrows:
Check out the fascinating composition of this canyon wall:
The next ten pictures show you the magnificent 1st narrows of Black Point Canyon. Notice how the narrows are a tight passage. The walls were not very high, which was why sunlight was shining into the narrows:
After exiting the 1st narrows, check out the right and left sides of the canyon walls as seen in the next two pictures:
At this point, the main canyon continues to the left through a slot like passage which is the gateway to Upper Black Point Canyon. This is the view off to the right of a side canyon:
After I did some exploring for a while, I scrambled up onto a nearby ridge. This is the view looking down at several miles of winding Black Point Canyon:
From the ridge, this was the view of upper Black Point Canyon as it progresses slowly uphill out of the picture:
Panoramic view from an elevation of 3,000 feet on the ridge looking at Mesquite Flat (click to enlarge):
Panoramic view of the colorful hills of Tucki above Black Point Canyon (click to enlarge):
