The Grand Canyon

 The Grand Canyon is located in Arizona and stretches to Colorado. The Grand Canyon is a national park and has become a national landmark. People from all over the world travel to see the Grand Canyon. Read more to find out interesting facts about this majestic place. 

The Size

The Grand Canyon is 18 miles wide. At average the Canyon is 5,000 ft deep. The Grand Canyon is 227 miles long. The Canyon takes up 1,218,376 acres of land. The Canyon is on a tilt the north rim is 1200 ft higher than the south rim. Trip to the bottom of canyon on foot or camel is a 2-day trip. At the deepest part of the canyon  is 6,000 vertical feet. The Grand Canyon is NOT the biggest canyon in the world. Barranca de Cabre in Northern Mexico and Hell’s Canyon in Idaho are deeper. The Grand Canyon is known for the amazing size and beautiful landscape.

Canyon Features

      The Canyon’s walls are made up of rocks, cliffs, hills, and valleys.  The Grand Canyon rocks were formed millions of years ago. Bottom of the canyon receives 8 inches per year (between rainwater and snowmelt).  Some parts of the northern rim are frosted. The Canyon has buttes, mesas and valley in it main gorge. The Grand Canyon is found mostly in Northern Arizona but it extends through some western states.

Canyon Facts

  Three thousand to four thousand years ago desert archaic people lived in the Grand Canyon. The Pueblo Indians built adobe house around the canyon and made animal figures out of one twig. The Hopi Indians believe that when they die, their spirits emerge here and rest here. The first American person to cross the Colorado River upstream was Hamblin in 1864.  In 1869 Major John Wesley Powell made a journey through the Grand Canyon by way of the Colorado River. By 1880 live stock companies began to raise 100,000 cattle and 250,000 sheep. In 1905 a world-class hotel, the El Tovar, was built right on the rim of the canyon. Every year since 1917 when the Grand Canyon became a national park there have millions people visiting this beautiful place.

 Did You Know?

Did you know in the Grand Canyon lives 75 different species of mammal, 50 species of reptiles, 25 species of fish, and 300 species of bird. In 1540 the first white man Francsico Conronado discovered the Grand Canyon. In 1919 congress made Grand Canyon Preserve a National Park. The Climate at the Grand Canyon is semi-arid. Humans once lived in the Grand Canyon around 4,000 years ago. The south rim of the Grand Canyon is a grayish green forest. Inside the Grand Canyon is 30 degrees higher then on rim. Rain comes suddenly in violent storms (usually in late summer).

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