Among the various wonders of world the Grand Canyon is the true wonder of the nature which is a great chasm carved in the earth's surface million years ago through the rocks of Colorado Plateau. Despite being a true wonder of nature it offers awe inspiring view and also one of the famous parks among the major national park systems. The steep-sided gorge situated in the Colorado river of state Arizona in United States. The place is actually contained within the Grand Canyon National Park in a larger extent and is the first National Park of United States.According to the scientific research it is found that this unbelievable chasm was created by the river Colorado over a period of six million year.It is 350 km/217 mi long, 6–29 km/4–18 mi wide, and reaches depths of over 1.7 km/1.1 mi. The gorge cuts through a multicolored series of rocks – mainly limestones, sandstones, and sedimentary rocks, and ranging in age from the Precambrian to the Cretaceous – and various harder strata stand out as steps on its slopes.
Grand CanyonNational Park features a mile deep canyon carved into the Colorado Plateau by the inexorable action of the Colorado River.It is more than an awe-inspiring view. It is more than a pleasuring ground for those that explore the roads, hike the trails, or float the currents of the turbulent Colorado River.Protected since 1893, and accessible by rail since 1901, the Grand Canyon was made a national monument in 1908, a national park in 1919, and a World Heritage Site in 1979. Most visitors approach the canyon via the more accessible South Rim; the North Rim is around 300–500 m/1,000–1,500 ft higher, and is closed during the winter. The national park has an area of 4,931 sq km/1,904 sq mi, and is bounded by GlenCanyon to the east and Lake Mead to the west. On its way through the canyon the Colorado River drops 670 m/2,200 ft through dozens of rapids.
The park is one of three national parks located in Arizona (the other two being Petrified Forest and Saguaro). Located in the northern part of the state, it stretches 290 miles along the canyon and the Colorado River and contains a total of 1,218,375 acres (1900 square miles). Elevations range from 110 feet at the bottom of the canyon in the west end of the park to 9165 on the north rim. One of the most popular of America's national parks, over 5 million people visit the park annually.
Chronicles:
Despite the climate and formidable geological features the Grand Canyon area shows evidence of habitation as far back as 2000 B.C. These ancient people pursued a hunter/gatherer existence. At about 500 B.C. a new group of people--the Anasazi ("ancient ones" in Navajo)--appeared on the scene. In 600-700 A.D. the Coconino people also settled the area, but climatic conditions or other factors caused both groups to abandon the area around 1150. One hundred fifty years later the Cerbat people, ancestors of the modern Havasupai Indians, moved into the area, while the Paiutes simultaneously moved to the north rim.
The first whites to see the canyon were members of a battalion of Spanish explorers in 1540. Led by Cardenas and guided by Hopi Indians, these soldiers were searching for fabled golden cities. Cardenas probably reached the canyon somewhere between Moran Point and Desert View. Peering down into the canyon, members of the party were fooled by the immense scale of the geological features. They vastly underestimated the size and scale of the canyon--they thought the river was no more than 6 feet across! Not finding the passage the gold they sought, the party left, and it wasn't for more than 200 years, until 1776, that another Spaniard, missionary and priest Francisco Tomás Garcés, again gazed upon, and this time traveled in, the canyon. Garcés was the first to call the dark silt-heavy river "Colorado" (red).
The first American to visit the area may have been James Ohio Pattie in 1826, although there is some question about whether this visit actually occurred. In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted sovereignty over Arizona and the canyon to the United States. In 1857 a survey party lead by Lt. Joseph Ives sailed up the Colorado to its furthest navigable point and ascended beyond into the canyon on foot. Missionary Joseph Hamblin made a number of visits to the area between 1858 and 1864.One of the prime factors in preserving the magnificent canyon was president and conservationist Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt first visited the park area in 1903 and was very impressed. In 1908 Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon area a national monument under the powers granted to the president by the Antiquities Act. Further unsuccessful bills to make the area a national park were introduced in 1910 and 1911. Finally, in 1917 Representative Carl Hayden and Senator Henry Fountain Ashurst sponsored a bill which would ultimately prove successful.The battle to conserve the canyon has never really stopped. In addition to the 1965 Glen Canyon Dam upriver there were plans in the 1960's to dam the river in the canyon itself. The Sierra Club's successful battle against this plan cost it its tax exempt status.
Village area of Grand Canyon
A developed area experienced by most visitors to the Grand Canyon on the south rim is Grand CanyonVillage. This area contains spectacular views of the canyon, trails which descend all the way to the Colorado River or run along the edge of the south rim, and visitor's facilities including historic inns, museums, visitor's centers, and restaurants.
The view below from the rim looks into the canyon from the rim near the El Tovar Hotel. A section of the BrightAngelTrail, running across the Tonto Platform, can be seen in the bottom center of the picture. Lower and drier, the Tonto Platform is covered by desert scrub and some trees along the creek.
The massive canyon is the handiwork of the Colorado River. The river has has spent some 10 million years cutting this trench, although by 1.2 million years ago the river had cut within about 50 feet of the canyon's present depth. The river runs 277 miles through the park and drops 2215 feet. There is a considerable difference between the north and south rims of the canyon. The north rim is about 1000 feet higher, and it also is much wetter, getting about 28 inches of rain each year--and 128 inches, versus 65, of snow annually respectively.
The walls of the canyon as well as spires and other formations often have a characteristic stair step pattern. This is formed as a result of the varying hardness of the rocks layers and the longer period that the upper layers have been exposed, weathered, and eroded.
Lookout Studio
Yavapai Point
Kachina Point as the light late in the day creates fantastic shapes of the formations.
The increased amount of precipitation also results in greater erosion on the north rim, some of which can be seen in this picture.
There are wide variety of interesting buildings in the Grand CanyonVillage area. include Lookout Studio, pictured on the edge of the rim below. Lookout Studio, along with many other park buildings, was designed by Mary Jane Colter. Built in 1914, it was designed to provide a convenient place to view and photograph the canyon. This building currently houses a visitor's information center. As can be seen in the picture, it is relatively unobtrusive, built of native stone, and meant to resemble a primitive native structure, similar to some of the Indian ruins in the area. As can be seen in this picture the building looks like part of the canyon wall from a distance.
One of the historic structures in the village area is the Kolb Studio, established by the Ellsworth and Emory Kolb. Ellsworth Kolb came to the canyon in 1901 and his brother Emory arrived a year later.The two set up photographic facilities, including in 1906 a darkroom down in the canyon at IndianGardens where waster was available.
Kolb Studio
O'Neill Cabin
Hopi House
Village area from Maricopa point
El-Tovar Hotel
West Rim Drive
Some of the most beautiful views of the canyon can be seen from the south rim east of the Grand CanyonVillage area. West Rim Drive (originally known as Hermit Rim Road) runs for about 8 miles from the South Entrance Road to Hermit's Rest. The road was originally built in 1912 by the Santa Fe Company, and was rebuilt in 1919 by the National Park Service and renamed. The rim drive is closed to private traffic in the summer but is served by shuttles and a trail system.
Mather Overlook
For many park visitors Mather Point provides the first view of the magnificent view of the canyon itself. This is because the road from the south entrance leads directly to this overview.The point is named for Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service.
Mather Point lies at 7120 feet above sea level. The view northeast from Mather Point (shown below) looks out across O'Neill Butte on the south side of the river across to ZoroasterTemple on the other side.
Shadows in Twitlight
The north rim is about 10 miles across the canyon from this point. The startling thing about the visitor's first view of the canyon is how suddenly it appears. Driving across the flat Coconino Plateau south of the rim provides little preparation for the first view of the massive gash in the earth which is like nothing any first time visitor has ever seen before, anywhere.In the twilight the shapes of the buttes and canyons are accentuated by the shadows which fall across them.
East Rim Drive
East Rim Drive follows the south rim from the South Entrance Road to Desert View area, a distance of about 23 miles. It provides a number of spectacular vistas.
One of the most beautiful overlooks along the eastern section of the south rim is Grandview Point, among the highest points on the south rim at 7406 feet. Because of the altitude this point receives more moisture and supports more vegetation than other points along the south rim. The formation known as VishnuTemple is visible in the upper center portion of the picture. Views into the canyon from either produce the interesting perspective of looking down on mountains.
This area is also the trailhead for the Grandview Trail which descends into the canyon. Here, in 1895, one of the first major tourist facilities, the Grandview Hotel, was built by miner Pete Berry. The hotel has long since disappeared, a victim of the arrival of the railroad at the Grand Canyon Village.Each vantage point along the rim of the canyon proves a very different view of the great gorge, but the views differ considerably with different lighting conditions and different climatic conditions. The canyon can be especially beautiful at twilight.As the sun goes down it casts deep shadows across the formations on the sides of the canyon.
Desert View
The eastern most "designated viewpoint" on the East Rim Drive is Desert View. The Watchtower is 67 foot feet high and 30 feet in diameter at the base. It was designed and built in 1933 by Mary Colter, architect of many of Grand Canyon's well known buildings.
It's visible from the bottom of the canyon on the river. It was designed to provide outstanding views of the surrounding area and was modeled after prehistoric towers in the southwest and constructed of natural stone found in the area. Interestingly, it also made use of some of the logs originally used in the Grandview Hotel for roofing materials.The interior of the tower is quite noteworthy, and from the beginning featured designs by Hopi artist Fred Kobotie, who later became an internationally known artist.In the Desert View area the river swings from flowing south to a westerly direction.
CoroladoRiver
Great architect of the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River is the second longest river in the United States. Arising 5 or 6 miles west of Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park in the Colorado Rockies, and its great tributary the Green River in the Wind River Range in Wyoming, it drains 240,000 square miles, 1/12 of the United States. Through the canyon the river averages about 50 feet in depth--the deepest point is 110 feet--and the width varies from about 200 to 300 feet.The view below is telephoto shot from the rim at Hopi Point.The river is known for the great rapids which any traveler on the river would encounter. The Indians of the area had been afraid of the river, believing it contained steep waterfalls. Although James White may have floated down the river 2 years before him, the first person to complete a documented trip down the river was John Wesley Powell. On May 24, 1869 Powell and a group of adventurers put 4 wooden boats featuring water tight compartments into the Green River and begun their trip. After a passage of several months, Powell and his colleagues emerged from the canyon successfully, minus one person who left the trip early and three others who climbed out of the canyon, only to be killed by Indians. Powell and his fellow adventurers spent 98 days in total and 24 days running through the canyon itself.
Historically, the flow of water through the canyon varied considerably at different times. However, the Colorado was dammed upriver from the canyon in 1965, and the flow of the river is now carefully regulated. This dam has drastically changed the ecology of the canyon. Before establishment of the dam river flow ranged from about 100 to 325,00 cubic feet per second, but it's less variable with a median of about 12,200.
The last 43 miles of the Colorado River in the canyon is currently submerged by Lake Mead, formed behind the Hoover Dam.
Trails
Grand CanyonNational Park contains some of the most interesting trails in the national park system. Some are extremely challenging and even dangerous,while others require less effort but afford access to some of the most interesting and spectacular scenery in the world.Among the latter is the Rim Trail (above and below) which runs for about 9 miles along the south rim from Hermit's Rest (at 6640 feet) in the west to Mather Point (7120 feet) in the east. This trail is paved paved between Maricopa and Yavapai Points, presumably to prevent damage to the rim from the many hikers and to provide some protection against the dangers of loose soil alongside drops of several thousand feet.
The pinyon pine produces a nut which has served as food for both human inhabitants of the area as well as animals like the Abert squirrel. The junipers are known for their often gnarled and twist form. Its stringy bark was used by the Indians to weave into sleeping mats and other commodities. The tree's berries can also be eaten in a pinch.The relatively dry conditions on the south rim restrict the size of the trees which grow there--sometimes in what is called a "pygmy forest." The moisture necessary to sustain pinyon-juniper forest arrive in the form of thunderstorms in the summer and winter snow. The trees can survive on a limited amount of moisture because of modest foliage, thick bark which resists evaporation, extensive root system and extremely slow growth.
Animals
The canyon and its environs are home to many animals--60 mammals, 180 species of birds, 25 reptiles, and 5 amphibians. Over 400 vertebrate species populate the park.One of the many small animals which can often be seen around the rim is the chipmunk.Chipmunks are always recognizable by the strips along their eyes.There are squirrels on both rims of the canyon--the Kaibab squirrel on the north and the Abert on the south.
These animals, although distinct now, are descended from common ancestors. There descendants were separated by the growing obstacle of the canyon and the river. Below is another rock squirrel along the south rim.Among the larger animals are the mule deer (seen below in the forest), named for their distinctive ears. These animals have had a varied history since preservation efforts began in the canyon. In the early part of the century, when the area was established as a game preserve, many of the deer's predators were killed. The death toll from this program was awesome--781 lions, 534 bobcats, 4889 coyotes, and 322 wolves
Other places to visit are
Skywalk and Hualapai Reservation
Havasupai Reservation and Waterfalls
Kaibab National Forest
Little Colorado River Navajo Tribal Park
Grand Canyon West (home to the Grand Canyon Skywalk) is managed by the Hualapai Tribe. The Hualapai Indian Reservation is located on the south side of the Colorado River. This land lies outside the boundary and jurisdiction of the National Park Service and is administered by the Hualapai Indian Tribe.The West Rim of the Grand Canyon is best seen by a tour from Las Vegas.The Havasupai Indian Reservation is in a large tributary canyon on the south side of the Colorado River. This land lies outside the boundary and jurisdiction of the National Park Service and is administered by theHavasupai Indian Tribe. Visit Havasu Falls on our helicopter tour, the Havasupai Heli-Hiking Tour. The village of Supai is otherwise accessible only by foot (an 8-mile hike) or horseback. Hiking is by tribal permit only
Several modes of vehices are provided to make the trip more comfortable. The services provide the opprtunity to view the insipirng scenes and attrations and makes the travelers to enjoy the trip completely.
The services such as
Royal Gorge Route Railroad
This is The train to take in Colorado. The reviews are amazing as is the ride.The train takes you THROUGH the Royal Gorge. Other than rafting (through difficult white water), this is your only option to really see the entire Royal Gorge. They offer six classes of service and are Colorado's only train (and one of the few in the nation) to offer outstanding dining and wine tasting options.
Royal Bridge Road and Park
This is THE HIGHEST suspension bridge in the world. Enough said, except it gets better... with the ride they call the "Sky Coaster" - scariest in the world as you swing over the Royal Gorge!The view from over 1,000 feet above the river really is amazing. If you're scared of heights, don't do it, otherwise you'll be fine, besides, there are other things to do up at the Park.
Rafting the Arkansas River
The Royal Gorge region is fortunate in that Colorado's most popular river, the Arkansas River "runs through it" offering exciting trips for all ability levels. From mild to wild, you'll have a blast battling Colorado whitewater.Choose a company that has its act together and can provide you with all the safety gear necessary for an enjoyable trip.
The Winery as Holy Cross Abbey
Colorado wines are now being compared to the best California wines, and for good reason! Matt Cookson, from the NapaValley, is the winemaker for the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey moving here in 2000. His expertise and attention to detail shines through with many award winning wines.This winery is rockin all year round as it has gained a stellar reputation for producing quality wines.The tasting room and adjoining gift shop are first rate. In addition to tasting wine, you'll find a variety of gifts that you just won't find anywhere else.
DowntownCanonCity
Downtown has much from great watering holes to some of the best pizza on the planet (Pizza Madness) - no kidding. Many visitors simply miss historic downtown because it's just north, one block off of highway 50 and that's a shame. CañonCity's downtown area is listed on the National Historical Register for its abundance of turn-of-the-century architecture. Submerge yourself in the ambiance of another era, even as you enjoy local dining, boutiques, music, and art galleries.Downtown is totally "walkable" and not to be missed. From the train station at the Santa Fe Depot (west end of town), just cross highway 50 driving north, park, and wander. The architecture is really classic and not many Colorado downtowns have this historic flavor. Download the PDF files above for historical walking tours.
Outdoor Activites in Royal Gorge Region
The Royal Gorge region offers so many options for outdoor enthusiasts with a difference in that this part of Colorado is uncrowded. Some of the best rock climbing in the state is located just north of town up shelf road for starters. And it gets better for cyclists as you can ride for miles either on dirt roads or paved to Cripple Creek and enjoy amazing scenery along the way. The Arkansas River offers outstanding rafting and kayaking opportunities either on your own or with an outfitter. Same goes for fishing. If you enjoy running, try tunnel drive or the Arkansas River Walk where you'll have miles and miles of trails off the beaten path.
RedCanyonPark, located just north of town is like the Garden of the Gods sans crowds and Shelf Road is a pretty spectacular place. A great, challenging mountain bike ride is to head south on 1st street toward Temple Canyon Road, circle around toward Parkdale and bike back to Canon City on Hwy 50.
Sources:
www.shannontech.com
www.encyclopedia.farlex.com
www.canoncitycolorado.com
www.grandcanyon.com/
