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Gand Canyon is a deep gorge carved out of the Colorado Plateau, surrounded by the Kaibab National Forest, between Nevada and Northwestern Arizona
More than 80 million years ago, an upheaval in the earth's crust began forming the dome-shaped Colorado Plateau in the northwestern corner of present-day Arizona. Six million years ago, the
Colorado River carved a path through the plateau, or tableland, creating an enormous gorge. This gorge is called the Grand Canyon. It is 277 miles (446 kilometers) long, up to 17 miles (27 kilometers) wide, and up to 6,000 feet (1,830 meters) deep.
Millions of tourists come every year to Grand Canyon National Park to see this breathtaking natural wonder. It has been called nature's greatest sculpture. The site is so popular that anyone planning a trip to the canyon must reserve a place to stay up to a year in advance!
The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is part of the Coconino Plateau, which is about 7,000 feet (2,135 meters) high. It is the more crowded of the two rims because it is easier to reach. Services and tourist attractions are plentiful along the South Rim. Park headquarters is located at the South Rim.
The North Rim is part of the Kaibab Plateau. It is more remote and less crowded than the South Rim. The North Rim is dotted with campgrounds and motels, but it also offers plenty of solitude. The South Rim is open year-round to visitors, but the North Rim is open only from mid-May to mid-October. The North Rim is colder and wetter, and heavy snows are common in winter. Although the rims are only nine miles (14.5 kilometers) apart, the trip from one rim to the other by car covers more than 200 miles (322 kilometers).
The canyon walls are a map to the geological history of the earth. The uppermost strata, or layers of rock, were formed about 250 million years ago. Below these are solidified remains of sand dunes that reveal a kind of lizard footprint. Lower still are layers of shale and sandstone that contain bits of primitive shellfish and fossil ferns. A layer of rocks at the bottom of the canyon, known as Vishnu Schist, is nearly two billion years old . It is some of the oldest exposed rock on earth.
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After his first trip to the Grand Canyon in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the canyon "one of the great sights which every American should see." He designated it a national monument in 1908; it became a national park in 1919. More recently, Congress passed an act that nearly doubled the size of the park and President Gerald Ford signed it into law in 1975.
Naturalist John Muir once wrote that the Grand Canyon was "as unearthly in the color and grandeur and quantity of its architecture, as if you had found it after death, on some other star." The changing color of the rock walls is one of the most stunning features of the Grand Canyon. At dusk, the canyon turns almost blood red and then deep purple. The sunrise, clouds, and rain create their own displays of color on the canyon walls.
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