The uplift of the nearby Wind River Range 60 million years ago exposed sedimentary rocks that were eroded by streams.

The streams provide habitat for wildlife in an otherwise arid region.

There is evidence of over 10,000 years of human presence in the canyon, including the Shoshone and Washakie tribes which used it as a transportation corridor between South Pass and the Wind River Basin.

[2] White settlers arrived during the 1870s and established farms on the floor of the canyon which provided fresh fruit and grains for nearby miners at South Pass City and Atlantic City.

Today, much of the canyon floor is owned by the Nature Conservancy which maintains the land as a working ranch.