Cathedral Gorge State Park

Cathedral Gorge State Park in Meadow Valley, near Panaca, preserves nearly 1,800 acres of badlands carved from soft bentonite clay into pale fluted walls, steep gullies, and narrow slot-like passages locally called caves. The landscape formed from sediments left by an ancient freshwater lake that covered much of Meadow Valley nearly 5 million years ago and was gradually cut by rainwater and melting snow after the lake drained. Known in the nineteenth century as Cathedral Gulch, the area later hosted open-air plays and Easter ceremonies. Set aside for preservation beginning in 1924, it became one of Nevada’s four original state parks in 1935.

Nevada · United States