Special Places # 39
Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon (Hopi: Öngtupqa, Yavapai: Wi:kaʼi:la, Navajo: Bidááʼ Haʼaztʼiʼ Tsékooh, Spanish: Gran Cañón) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth’s geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
| Floor elevation | Approx. 2,600 feet (800 m) |
| Length | 277 miles (446 km) |
| Width | 4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29.0 km) |
| Age | 5–6 million years |
| Location | Arizona, U.S. |
| Coordinates | : 36°18′N 112°36′W |
| Rivers | Colorado River |
Photo Gallery
© HJ Ruiz – Avian101 – Wikipedia Info.
H.J. Ruiz - Avian101 
These are lovely captures, HJ! I hope to get back to the Grand Canyon someday, it is a jaw-dropping, gorgeous NP!
One can’t ever get tired of seeing it! Thank you, Donna. 🙂
Fascinating photographs, thanks so much for sharing them.
You’re welcome, Susan. I’m glad that you liked it. 🙂
Thanks so much, H.J., for taking us to this special place today. Your photos and facts reflect just how very unique the Grand Canyon is. We are lucky to have this stunning spot in our country.
I couldn’t agree more with you, Jet. Thanks a lot. 🙂
Thanks for sharing all of this marvelous information about the Grand Canyon, HJ. These photos are spectacular! Perhaps one day we’ll get there to see it.
Thank you very much, Carol. 🙂
Such a breathtaking gallery, HJ. Thanks for the information too.
Thank you so much, Chris. 🙂
Special photographs of special places. Congratulations.
Thanks a lot, Tom. 🙂
Grand Canyon is an amazing place, covers a lot of ground(more than one state?) and reservations. Never been there-yet. Thanks for sharing so many vistas.
Thank you, Jane. I hope that one day you will visit this place, 🙂
Together with Yellowstone definitely at the top of my list of places to see if I ever make it to the USA!
Great choices! You’d not be disappointed. Thanks, D. 🙂