An even better view of the
Diamond Creek area may be attained by climbing the canyon walls at either side of the junction with the Colorado. It is relatively easy to scale the cliffs to the west; the main obstacles are the many spiky cacti that grow in crevices and on ledges. To scale the steep 250 foot granite rock layer takes around 10 minutes; after this, the land is flatter and less rocky, and remains so for a few hundred feet. Further above there is a thick vertical layer of limestone which is not easily climbed, but the river may be followed upstream for several miles along the flat land above the inner canyon gorge.
Cacti: There are great views in all directions; a long distance up and down the canyon, across to many convoluted cliffs and buttes on the edge of Shivwits Plateau north of the river, and of the lower end of Diamond Creek and Peach Springs Canyon. There are many fine examples of large cacti, some of which occur in quite localised zones, such as cholla that are found only around south-facing ledges, and large ferocacti on flatter, more sandy terrain. This is one area where it is possible that no-one else has ever stood.
