Because it’s home to many of the most memorable viewpoints, the South Rim is the ideal destination for first-time Grand Canyon Visitors. If you have small children, you may prefer to visit the South Rim for its many amenities and activities. Which is better South or North Rim Grand Canyon? The South Rim is at […]

Grand Canyon’s water supply comes from Roaring Springs, a natural spring located approximately 3,500 feet below the North Rim. Water is delivered via an aging pipeline that suffers multiple breaks a year. When the pipeline breaks, water stops flowing to the North and South Rims and sites along the way. Can you swim in the […]

Grand Canyon is considered one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world. Incised by the Colorado River, the canyon is immense, averaging 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 18 miles at its widest. Why is the Grand Canyon so famous? […]

The great depth of the Grand Canyon and especially the height of its strata (most of which formed below sea level) can be attributed to 5–10 thousand feet (1,500 to 3,000 m) of uplift of the Colorado Plateau, starting about 65 million years ago (during the Laramide Orogeny). How old is the bottom of the […]

Eight years later Major John Wesley Powell descended the Colorado River through its gorges, renamed the Big Cañon as the Grand Canyon, and wrote a classic account of the view from the river. How did the Grand Canyon get his name? What’s in a name: A one-armed Civil War veteran, John Wesley Powell, coined and […]

At least 64 deaths have been recorded at the Grand Canyon since it was established 200 years ago. National Park officials say they see, on average, 12 deaths a year, but not all of them are from falls. Other deaths are related to medical issues or happen outside of the rim. How many tourists have […]

The Colorado River had cut down to nearly the current depth of the Grand Canyon by 1.2 million years ago. How long ago was the Grand Canyon underwater? More than 1 billion years ago: The foundations are laid Under extreme heat and pressure, their rocks transformed into the dark-colored “basement” rocks seen near the bottom […]