Grand Canyon

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The Grand Canyon has evolved over an unknown number of millions of years. New evidence now being evaluated indicates that western parts of the Grand Canyon may be as old as 17 million years. The eastern portion of the Grand Canyon is estimated to be 3.7 million years old. The rocks that form the sides of the canyon were laid down over the span of a billion years. Then over the last 3.7 to 17 million years those rocks have been gradually worn away by the Colorado River. At the base of the canyon can be found rock formations estimated to be two billion years old and are among the oldest exposed rocks in the world.

The Grand Canyon is located in Arizona and extends 217 miles from the joining of the Little Colorado River with the Colorado River to the Hoover Dam on the Nevada border. The canyon width ranges from four to 18 miles. At its maximum, the Grand Canyon is about 5,700 feet deep.

The Grand Canyon was inhabited by the Pueblo Indians around 1200 A.D. The first white men to see the Grand Canyon were members of the 1540 Colorado Expedition led by Garcia Lopez de Cardenas. The first recorded American exploration was by James O. Peattie, a fur trapper, who traveled the South Rim in 1826. Tourist travel began in 1890 increasing rapidly with the building of the first hotel on the South Rim in 1897.

The Grand Canyon was declared a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 and it became a national park in 1919. It has been designated one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World . It is estimated that more than five million people per year visit the Grand Canyon. The South Rim of the canyon is open year-around to visitors. Because the roads leading to the North Rim are frequently closed due to snow, the North Rim visitor facilities are closed from mid-October to mid-May.

The newest Grand Canyon attraction is Skywalk, a glass bridge extending 65 feet over the canyon’s edge (4,000 feet above the canyon floor), owned by the Hualapai Indians. It opened in 2007.

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