WHY IS THE GRAND CANYON SO ICONIC?
- Natural wonder of the world
- Textural rock layers record billions of years of history and provide habitats to many unique species.
- It reveals 40% of Earth's history
- Right next to Havasu falls
- Blue-green waters, breathtakingly blue-green these waters really are.
- Rattlesnake species spotted in the park boundaries, one has an unusual pink hue that matches the local rocks.
- The Grand Canyon is found in the US state of Arizona.
- The Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon, it has been eroding its steep sides for millions of years.
- The rock called schist was found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and is around 2 billion years old.
- American Indians have been living in and around the canyon for thousands of years.
- John Wesley Powell led the first expedition down the Grand Canyon in 1869. He was the first to use the name “Grand Canyon” after it had previous been known as the “Big Canyon” or “Great Canyon”.
- It was the 17th national park to be established in the United States.
- Sightseeing, hiking and rafting are popular
Size of the CanyonThe canyon holds an immense measure of the land of Arizona
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Grand Canyon ancient rocks
The Colorado River which is 640,000 km2 cuts through schist, a type of metamorphic rock that is 1.75 billion years old. As metamorphic rocks form the alteration of other rocks under high temperatures and pressures, these schists represent even more ancient marine and volcanic rocks. |
Origin of the 'Grand Canyon"
The Paiute Indian tribe calls the canyon Kaibab, which means "mountain lying down". The creamy white Kaibab Limestone forms the surface on which the park's 5 million visitors stand while viewing the canyon. One-armed war veteran John Wesley Powell, who charted the Colorado River's course in 1891 and 1892 in a wooden boat, was the first to consistently use the name "Grand Canyon". |