Grand Canyon

One of the seven wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon attracts more than 5 million visitors every year. Its colorful, steep-sided cliffs rise thousands of feet above the winding Colorado River—the river that, over the past six million years, has formed this magnificent natural phenomenon. The canyon extends 217 miles long, is one mile deep, and has a width that ranges depending on location from four to eighteen miles across. Remarkably, the geology of The Grand Canyon is one of the most complete sequences of rock anywhere, showing a period of up to 2 billion years within its cliff faces. There are nearly 40 identified rock layers here, and the canyon walls are some of the most studied sequences of rock in the world. The slope of the Colorado River is still steep enough to possibly cut another 1200 to 2000 feet into the canyon.

Within the canyon, the history of human inhabitants dates back 10,500 years when ancient Native Americans, the first of which were the Anasazis, lived at the rim and inner canyon. Various tribes of Native Americans have inhabited the canyon since, including the Havasupia and Hualapai, Southern Paiute, Navajo and Hopi tribes which represent the Grand Canyon today. The first documented case of Europeans visiting here was in 1540, when Hopi guides led Spanish explorers in an unsuccessful search for gold and the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. Centuries later, at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe transferred the Grand Canyon to the United States.

To get an up-close and personal view of the canyon, several activities are available. Probably most popular are the opportunities for casual sightseeing from either the North or South Canyon Rim. Open throughout the year, the more popular South Rim is 7000 feet above sea level and extends 60 miles along the canyon’s edge. The North Rim rises 1000 feet higher than the South and offers views that are just as spectacular, but is generally closed due to snow from fall to early spring. If you care to add a bit more adventure, hiking and running the trails are very popular, though it is never recommended to complete the trek in one day. Sudden weather shifts, the difference in temperatures from the top of the canyon to its floor, the rocky terrain and sheer distance are all valid reasons to extend the trip to two or more days. If you decide to stay overnight, know that camping is generally restricted to the established campgrounds—with reservations highly recommended—and all camping below the rim requires a backcountry permit that can be purchased through the National Park Service. Other ways to reach the bottom of the canyon include traveling by mule, boat or whitewater raft, and by helicopter (be aware that not all helicopter packages offer trips that land on the canyon floor). And for the particularly adventuresome, the Grand Canyon Skywalk has recently opened to the public. A horseshoe-shaped walkway completely enclosed with glass, the Skywalk juts out seventy feet from the South Rim to give spectators a complete—and often unnerving—view of the canyon from 4000 feet in mid-air.