Grand Canyon National Park

A powerful and inspiring landscape, the Grand Canyon overwhelms our senses through its immense size. Unique combinations of geologic color and erosional forms decorate a canyon that is 277 river miles (446km) long, up to 18 miles (29km) wide, and a mile (1.6km) deep.

The Grand Canyon is considered one of the natural wonders of the world largely because of its natural features. The exposed geologic strata, layer upon layer, rise over a mile above the river, representing one of the most complete records of geological history that can be seen anywhere in the world.

Nearly five million people see the 1 mile deep (1.6 km) Grand Canyon each year. Most of them see it from their car at overlooks along the South Rim (this includes Grand Canyon Village, Hermits Rest, and Desert View). The South Rim is the most accessible part of the park and is open all year.

A much smaller number of people see the Canyon from the North Rim, which lies just 10 miles / 16 km (as the condor flies) directly across the Canyon from the South Rim. The North Rim rises a thousand feet higher than the South Rim, and is much less accessible. Heavy snows close the road to the North Rim from late October to mid May of each year. Even in good weather it's harder to get to. It is 220 miles / 354 km by car from the South Rim, or 21 miles / 34 km by foot across the Canyon by way of the North and South Kaibab Trails.

The Inner Canyon includes everything below the rim and is seen mainly by hikers, mule riders, or river runners. There are many opportunities here for adventurous and hardy persons who want to backpack, ride a mule to Phantom Ranch, or take a river trip through the Canyon on the Colorado River (which can take anywhere from a few days to three weeks - there are no one-day river trips through Grand Canyon).

Did You Know?

Pres. Teddy Roosevelt said of the Grand Canyon, "Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American should see."

In Grand Canyon, the broad, sandy expanse on the north bank of the Colorado River is Unkar Delta, composed of rock debris carried from the North Rim by Unkar Creek. Prehistoric Pueblo people occupied numerous sites on Unkar Delta and along Unkar Creek for about 350 years (A.D. 850 to A.D. 1200)

The elk found within Grand Canyon National Park weigh as much as 1,000 pounds (450 kg), and have been known to injure people who approach them. Never approach wild animals. It is dangerous, and illegal, to feed the wild animals in a national park. Violators will be fined.

Kolb Studio was once the home and business of the Kolb brothers, pioneering photographers at Grand Canyon. Today you can visit free art exhibits in the auditorium and shop in the bookstore. The studio is located in the Village Historic District, at the Bright Angel Trailhead. Open daily.

The more recent Kaibab limestone caprock, on the rims of the Grand Canyon, formed 270 million years ago. In contrast, the oldest rocks within the Inner Gorge at the bottom of Grand Canyon date to 1.84 billion years ago. Geologists currently set the age of Earth at 4.5 billion years.

News

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The National Park Service closed the Tanner Trail

within Grand Canyon National Park late yesterday afternoon after a rock fall caused significant damage to the trail. The damage occurred approximately one mile below the trailhead and includes approximately 1500 linear feet of trail and numerous switchbacks.

This year's Grand Canyon (Tapeats Creek) condor chick, #441, has fledged!

The youngster was seen above its nest cave at about 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 24. Grand Canyon National Park Volunteer Greg Ringger and Biological Science Technicians Jeremy White and Hattie Oswald saw it and continued to observe it through a spotting scope. This was the first time that anyone had been to check on this remote location since the chick's existence was first confirmed in September, so we don't know when its first flight actually occurred. It was observed taking another short flight (20-30 feet or so) in the area above its Redwall nest cave. It was also seen being fed by its mama, number 210, exhibiting a healthy appetite! It probably hasn't taken the Big Flight down to the bottom of the Redwall yet, but it has definitely flown and left its nest cave, so it can be officially counted as the 6th Arizona chick to fledge and the 4th within Grand Canyon National Park since the releases began here in December of 1996. (All fledglings are alive and well except for the first, #305, who died back in March of 2005.)

Grand Canyon issues warning after biologist dies from plague

Grand Canyon National Park issued new precautions for visitors after lab tests indicated that a wildlife biologist had died from pneumonic plague.

The biologist, Eric York, 37, was found dead Nov. 2 in his home on the canyon's South Rim, and the preliminary lab results were reported today.

Pamela Walls, parks spokeswoman, emphasized that York had limited contact with visitors and that, in any event, person-to-person transmission of the potentially fatal disease was highly unlikely. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said, such transmission has not been observed in the U.S. since 1924.

Content on this page was taken from http://www.nps.gov