The Grand Canyon

There really isn't another Canyon that is quite as spectacular as the Grand Canyon in Arizona.


(c)By Photographer, Katie Hoxie, all rights reserved.

From my daughters words, it is just unbelievably huge! You can stand and look across at places that are 70 miles away.

This massive Canyon is told to overwhelm your senses with just the mere size of it.



At two hundred and seventy seven miles long, the Colorado river winding through the bottom of it, one mile below the plateau peak.

When you look straight across you are looking across a span of eighteen miles in some places.

Did you know that the Grand Canyon is one if the Natural Wonders of the World?

The layers of geologic strata, which are layers of rock or soil and each layer is one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another, laid down by natural forces.



Now don't get bored here, think about this:

These layers allow geologists to study three different era's of geological time. There are only four Era's in the entire history of our Earth as we know it. The history in that Canyon dates back 1,750,000,000 years ago. Can you imagine the fossils that lie between those layers and layers of rock?

Does that tell you how old the Grand Canyon is? Amazing, isn't it?

Look again at the photos above, look at each of those layers of the rock. You are actually looking at millions of years of history in those layers of rock!

This is a Watchtower that opened in May of 1933. The goal was to provide the widest possible view of the Grand Canyon, and yet blend in with the canyon in harmony with it's rocks. It was designed by architect Mary Colter working for the Santa Fe Railroad who hired her in 1930 to design a gift shop and rest area at Desert View Point.

"Leave it as it is.
The ages have been at work on it,
and man can only mar it.
What you can do is to
keep it for your children,
your children's children,
and for all who come after you,
as one of the great sights
which every American should see."

~President Theodore Roosevelt

The Grand Canyon was created over millions of years, layers and layers of rock worn down through the years by the Colorado river.

Water, erosion and time all played a part in it's creation.

View from the South Rim, almost the same view of the information below on the Canyon features.


If you are not able to read the tiny print, this is what it says, beginning at the Top left:

Walhalla Plateau (North Rim) distance 9.5 miles, 15.3 km.

Wotans Throne (North Rim) distance 7.75 miles, 12.5 km.

Inner Gorge(North Rim) distance 5 miles, 8 km.

Vishnu Temple(North Rim) distance 9 miles, 14.5 km.

Echo Cliffs(North Rim) distance 42 miles, 67.5 km.

Palisades of the Desert(North Rim) distance 17.5 miles, 28 km.

Horseshoe Mesa(North Rim) distance 5 miles, 8 km.

Desert View and Tower(North Rim) distance 13.5 miles, 21.7 km.

Inner Gorge(North Rim) distance 5 miles, 8 km.

And on the bottom, left to right:

A Different View
The view here is unusual. Most views from the South Rim face North, but the view here is to the east. The Palisades of the Desert, directly ahead of you, border Grand Canyon on the east. On the far horizon the Echo Cliffs lie on the edge of the Painted Desert well outside the Grand Canyon National Park.

Distance and Size
At the Grand Canyon distance and size can be deceptive. Look at the Wotans Throne. It is often difficult to distinguish Wotans Throne from the North rim cliffs behind it; they seem to blend together. But nearly two miles seperate the near edge of Wotans Throne from the North Rim.

Wotans Throne is a mesa, with an area on top of almost 1/4 square mile, large enough for a football stadium with a parking lot for thousands. Getting fans to the game is another question.

In this photo you can see the shadows developing, the light plays a huge part on how each view of the Canyon looks.

To truly enjoy the entire experiense one should plan a long trip there, seeing it from first dawn as the light hits the rims, to sunset when the spectacular colors reflect on the rocks.



The few changes in the time of day you see throughout this webpage, help you to imagine how different the light plays on the Canyon must affect it's ever changing beauty.



I don't know about you, but I have got to go visit the Grand Canyon now, even more after seeing Katie's beautiful photos. There is not a view that isn't spectacular!

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