Facts about Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a very colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in the U.S. state of Arizona.
Grand Canyon Depot, built in 1909, is a two level building and the only remaining structural log railroad depot in the United States.
The higher elevation has also resulted in greater precipitation in the Colorado River drainage area, but not enough to change the Grand Canyon area from being semi-arid.
The Grand Canyon is a deep cut in the Colorado Plateau that exposes uplifted Proterozoic and Paleozoic strata.
James Ohio Pattie, along with a group of European American trappers and mountain men, was probably the next European to reach the Grand Canyon in 1826, although there is little documentation to support this.
The major geologic exposures in Grand Canyon range in age from the two-billion-year-old Vishnu Schist at the bottom of the Inner Gorge to the 230-million-year-old Kaibab Limestone on the Rim.
The Grand Canyon has suffered some problems with air pollution, attributed to nearby coal-burning power plants.
Inside the lodge is a small museum honoring Fred Harvey who played a major role in popularizing the Grand Canyon.
On June 30, 1956, United Airlines Flight 718 and TWA Flight 2 collided in mid-air over the Grand Canyon.
President Theodore Roosevelt, a major proponent of the Grand Canyon area, visited on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lions and enjoy the scenery.
The depot is the northern terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway which begins in Williams, Arizona.
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the world’s premier natural attractions, attracting about five million visitors per year.
The uplift of the Colorado Plateau is uneven, resulting in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon being over a thousand feet higher than the South Rim.
The specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon spark lively debates by geologists. The general scientific consensus, updated at a 2010 conference, holds that the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon beginning 5 million to 6 million years ago.Feb 26, 2013
Named by Powell, "Its head at the confluence of the Little Colorado River, its foot at the entrance of Nonnow Valley; its length 238 miles." Dellenbaugh writes, "Powell was responsible for most of the names in the Canyon. He called it Grand Canyon on the first trip.
In September 1540, under orders from the conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado to search for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, Captain García López de Cárdenas, along with Hopi guides and a small group of Spanish soldiers, traveled to the south rim of the Grand Canyon between Desert View and Moran Point.
A natural wonder. One of the world's natural wonders, the iconic Grand Canyon draws oohs and aahs from visitors perched at the edge of its towering cliffs. Carved by the copper-colored Colorado River, the colorful rock layers record billions of years of history and hide many unique species.Mar 27, 2013
Well known for its geologic significance, the Grand Canyon is one of the most studied geologic landscapes in the world. ... The Canyon, incised by the Colorado River, is immense, averaging 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 18 miles at its widest.Jul 13, 2017
Some geologists believe that very young rock layers to the west of the Grand Canyon, dated at only 5 and 10 million years old, and through which the Colorado now flows, indicate that the river could not have been flowing there prior to that time. The river had to cut through these layers after they were deposited.