The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. Nearly two billion years of Earth’s geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted.
While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon. For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
The Grand Canyon has been home to Native Americans for thousands of years. About 10,000 years ago, paleo-hunters were known to have hunted big game throughout the area. More recently, hunter-gathers lived in the area until about 1000 BC. Archaeological findings, such as pottery found in the canyon, have been carbon dated to 4000 years ago. Ancestral Puebloan people moved in around 500 AD. They cultivated corn, hunted bighorn sheep, rabbits, and deer, and made intricate baskets. Their basket making skills lead archaeologists to call these people “basket makers.” The park contains nearly 2,000 ancestral Puebloan sites including the impressive Tusayan Pueblo which was built in 1185 AD. By the late 1200s, the early Grand Canyon Native Americans abandoned their homes. Some speculate that an extended drought prompted this mass exodus.
The 1870s and 1880s yielded the discovery of lead, zinc, asbestos, and copper which prompted many to stake mining claims. However, actually mining the canyon proved difficult and treacherous. Instead of getting dollars through mining, many miners turned to a more profitable venture: tourism. Buildings, railroads, lodging, and new trails along with fabulous photos and paintings depicting the canyon and eventual National Park status in 1919, beckoned tourists from all over the world with promises of a sight unlike any other in the world.
Today there are three major rims of the Grand Canyon that attract tourists and vacationers. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the most popular and most accessible enjoying over 5 million visitors each year. About 90% of the tourists that visit the Grand Canyon, go to the South Rim which is only 60 miles from Williams, Arizona, home to the Grand Canyon Railway. It is also only about 80 miles northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona, the hub of Northern Arizona. And the red rock country of Sedona is just about 20 miles south of Flagstaff on SR 89A. The Grand Canyon North Rim is very remote with few services. It is more ideal for the adventurous visitor. Although the North Rim of the Canyon can be seen from the South Rim and is only 10-15 miles away as an eagle flies, it is about a 5 hour drive to get to the other side.
Although more remote, many visitors believe the views are more incredible versus the South Rim. The North Rim is most accessible from southern Utah. Unlike the South and North Rim, the West Rim of the Grand Canyon is not administered by the National Park Service. The West Rim is owned and operated by The Hualapai Indian Tribe. The Tribe is enlarging its amenities and services to attract a greater number of tourists. It is the home of the “SkyWalk” where tourists can walk out over the canyon with a see-through surface beneath them. It is an amazing experience. The West Rim is closer to Las Vegas than the other two rims and as such enjoys a great number of tours from the Las Vegas area. Today, a Grand Canyon vacation involves more than peeking over the Canyon’s rim. Tours, river rafting expeditions, hiking, mule rides, and camping are just a sampling of the delights that various rims of the canyon offers.
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