Grand Canyon, a designated world Heritage Site and a declared U.S. national park in 1919, is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It is also one of the Crown Jewels of the National Parks System.
Grand Canyon History
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the State of Arizona in the United States. It is 277 miles (446 km) with a depth of over a mile (1.83 km or 6,000 feet). There is a longstanding scientific consensus that the canyon was created by the Colorado River over a period of six million years. Nearly two billion years of the 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. The canyon began in the west that was followed by one that formed in the east. The two canyons broke through eventually and met as a single majestic rent in the earth some six million years ago.
Grand Canyon Today
Today, Grand Canyon draws nearly five million visitors per year. It boasts of its 1.2 million acre park which is home to the Canyon’s numerous endangered animals like cougars, rattlesnakes and Gila monsters, some of which you can see while walking in the park. It’s is also home to over 1,500 plant species dating thousands of years back.