Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (Hopi: Öngtupqa,[2] Yavapai: Wi:kaʼi:la, Navajo: Bidááʼ Haʼaztʼiʼ Tsékooh,[3][4] Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi,[5] Spanish: Gran Cañón or Gran Cañón del Colorado) 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).[6]: 902
This article is about the canyon in the southwestern United States. For other Grand Canyons, see Grand Canyon (disambiguation).Grand Canyon
Approx. 2,600 feet (800 m)
277 miles (446 km)
4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29.0 km)
5–6 million years[1]
United States
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. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. 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.[7][8] While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists,[7][9] several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago.[7][1][10][11] 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.[12] The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.[13]
There are several historic buildings located along the South Rim with most in the vicinity of Grand Canyon Village.
Biology and ecology
Plants
There are approximately 1,737 known species of vascular plants, 167 species of fungi, 64 species of moss, and 195 species of lichen found in Grand Canyon National Park.[144] This variety is largely due to the 8,000 foot (2,400 m) elevation change from the Colorado River up to the highest point on the North Rim.[144] Grand Canyon boasts a dozen endemic plants (known only within the Park's boundaries) while only ten percent of the Park's flora is exotic.[144] Sixty-three plants found here have been given special status by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.[144]
History
Travel and sites
Multimedia