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A Snapshot of the Grandest of Canyons by
Mike Buchheit
Darkness gives way to a milky
predawn
light at Grand Canyon’s
popular Mather Point on the South Rim. The two dozen visitors
clustered on the scenic overlook gape as the clouds shift from
purple to pink in advance of the rising sun. The crowd’s
multi-lingual chatter gives way to a universal silence as the
sun breaks the eastern horizon, its rays stretching across the
Canyon, illuminating the tops of the myriad mountainous peaks
within. Cameras flash. Lovers embrace. Even the birds seem to
grasp the majesty of the moment. And so begins another day at
Grand Canyon National Park.
Much has been said about the Grand Canyon, perhaps the most recognizable
land feature on planet Earth. Its praises have been spread by
both popular media and word of mouth alike. Though the average
visit is but a few hours, the spectacle is firmly planted in
the memories of millions of visitors that make the long journey
to remote northern Arizona each year.
The 277-mile long chasm is considered one of the Crown
Jewels of the National Park System and one of the Seven
Natural Wonders of the World. A priceless repository of both natural and cultural
history, the Grand Canyon has been designated a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO. Although located in the state of Arizona in the
American Southwest, the Grand Canyon clearly belongs to people
everywhere.
With over four million visitors per year, Grand Canyon has become
one of the most heavily-visited tourist destinations anywhere.
Since its inception into the National Park System in
1919 by
a stroke of President Woodrow Wilson’s pen, Grand Canyon
National Park has emerged as a world-class destination for hikers,
backpackers, photographers, whitewater rafters, and the just-plain-curious.
There are deeper, wider and longer Canyon’s around the
globe, but few generate awe and reverence as predictably as Grand
Canyon. A visit to Grand Canyon is often an intensely personal
experience, but there are a few practical explanations as to
describe its unending allure.
The sparse vegetation from rim to river in particular leaves
little to conceal the signature sculpted cliffs that punctuate
view in every direction. For this and many other reasons the
scientific community is drawn to the Canyon like bees to honey.
To a trained eye, a study of the neatly stacked sedimentary layers
of the Grand Canyon speaks to the origins of the continent. Geologists
take full advantage of this easy visual access, an “open
book” if you will, that is afforded on either rim.
The oldest exposed rock, the 1.7 billion-year-old Vishnu
Schist,
dominates the canyon’s innermost depths. It’s in
plain view from a number of scenic overlooks along the South
Rim’s Hermit Road. This “basement” rock of
the Grand Canyon is aresilient metamorphic rock sequence—one
that the Colorado River is struggling to erode after quickly
slicing through consecutive layers of softer rock above. The
uppermost rock sequence is the 250 million-year-old Kaibab Limestone,
already older than dinosaurs. Between the two are alternating
layers of limestone, siltstone, sandstone, and shale that were
deposited over the eons by wind and water.
"So how did the canyon get here?” is a common question overheard
in the park, and the answer is still being hotly debated. At
the end of the day the Grand Canyon is an erosional feature—plain
and simple. It’s long history involves a regional geologic
uplift swiftly followed by the intense downcutting by the modern
and ancient rivers. Over 1,000 cubic miles of material has been
removed by these same rivers to leave behind the magnificent
gorge that has become a magnet for modern travelers.
Most geologists agree that roughly 70 million years ago, shifting
tectonic plates caused the “heart” of the Grand Canyon
region to be thrust thousands of feet skyward, forming a broad
dome known as the Kaibab Upward. Many millennia later ancestral
streams and rivers began the unceasing task of downward cutting
a canyon into this mountain of material.
Five million years later, the Colorado River continues the monumental
task of carving the gorge that Major John Wesley Powell dubbed
the “Grand Canyon” in 1869 during the first harrowing
journey through the canyon by boat.
Peppered throughout the vast expanse of the Canyon are towering
buttes, mesas and “temples”—a moniker assigned
to a few of the most majestic geologic formations by cartographer
Clarence Dutton who created a few of the first maps of Grand
Canyon in the late 1800s
.
In fact, any number of these rocky giants might be declared a
national monument in their own right were they transported to
the Midwest plains. Here in Grand Canyon they rub shoulders with
dozens of others, and collectively give the Grand Canyon a visual
complexity that changes with every vantage. Many of these pinnacles
are named after Hindu gods and popular figures in Greek and Roman
mythology. This unconventional nomenclature is a noticeable departure
from typical public lands in the U.S., and generates no small
amount of interest in Grand Canyon visitors, especially the 30-40%
traveling from overseas.
Although the Grand Canyon is most revered for its spectacular
geology, it also offers critical habitat to an amazing variety
of flora and fauna. Grand National Park’s 1.2 million acres
includes numerous biotic communities. From the sub-Alpine forests
of the North Rim towering 9,000 feet above sea level, to the
desert scrub that covers the Canyon floor more than a mile below.
Grand Canyon is home to an 1600 species of plants making it one
of the most biologically diverse national parks. In fact, nearly
every botanical “life zone” found in North America
is represented in the Grand Canyon.
Indeed, an individual making the fourteen-mile hike from the
lofty North Rim to the bottom of the Grand Canyon would encounter
the same diversity of plant life that one might encounter on
a coastal walk from central Canada to central Mexico, a journey
of several thousand miles.
Grand Canyon also sustains numerous creatures. From the endangered
Humbpack chub to the equally-rare California condor that has
made a comeback from the brink of extinction. The Canyon serves
as a major migratory corridor, an invaluable refuge in a region
that is sacrificing critical habitat at an alarming rate to accommodate
urban development. By the numbers there are at least 305 species
of birds, 76 species of mammals, 35 species of reptiles, 26 species
of fish, and six amphibians that inhabit this wonderland of cliff
and crevice.
Mankind was a relative latecomer to Grand Canyon. Recent archaeological
evidence suggests that the first arrivals date back as
far as 11,000 years—shortly after the close of the Ice Age. Over
the centuries, these Paleo-Indian hunters were replaced (consecutively)
by more sedentary indigenous farming communities, contemporary
American Indian tribes (a few of which still call the Canyon
home centuries later), Spanish explorers, post-Civil War miners
and trappers, and, ultimately, by the modern park visitor arriving
in air-conditioned luxury via car, train, or plane.
Of course, it is impossible to determine what the Canyon’s
earliest residents and visitors drew from their collective experience.
Was the Canyon for them a source of food, shelter, or sanctuary?
Was it a religious destination, a trade route, or sporting grounds?
There is not even an oral history to shed light on how the Canyon
was regarded by our forebears.
Gauging reaction in today’s visitors, on the other hand,
is as simple as lingering at one of the scenic overlooks, Inner
Canyon oases, or pristine beaches along the Colorado River. Typically
it is a giddy blend of awe, excitement, and bewilderment; perhaps
with mild vertigo thrown in for good measure. It is a connection
that sets in quickly, and can last a lifetime, bringing visitors
back year after year to the world’s most-famous chasm.
Grand Canyon Related Links
Arizona
Vacations — Arizona golf, hotels, casinos, skiing, hiking and more!
Visit Grand Canyon, Sedona, Phoenix.
Bruce Aiken Fine Art — View
the magic of Grand Canyon painter Bruce Aiken.
Grand Canyon
Association — Your source for Grand Canyon information
and activities.
Grand
Canyon Chamber of Commerce — Information on hotels,
lodging, activities, Grand Canyon WebCam, and more.
Grand
Canyon Field Institute — Leading provider of outdoor
educational classes and backpacking trips at Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon
Hikers & Backpackers
Association — GCHBA promotes, encourages and advocates
the interests of the hiking and backpacking community in the
regions of Grand Canyon.
Grand
Canyon Music Festival — Each year celebrate autumn at the
Canyon with classical music on the South Rim.
Grand Canyon National
Park — The National Park Service's official Grand Canyon
site.
Grand Canyon Private
Boaters Association — Advocate for the self-outfitted boating
public.
Grand Canyon
River Guides — Protecting Grand Canyon by setting the highest
standards for the river profession.
Grand Canyon Youth — Dedicated
to providing Middle and High School students an experiential education
along the rivers and canyons of the Colorado Plateau.
Hit the Trail — Everything
you need to know to hike the Canyon safely and enjoyably.
Kaibab.org — Everything
else you need to know to hike the Canyon safely and enjoyably.
Mike
Quinn — A treasure trove of Grand Canyon historic photos,
memorabilia, and fun facts.
Southwest
Vacation Travel — Dedicated to people who love the American
Southwest.
The Canyon.com — Grand
Canyon web directory for hotels, shopping, activities, and such.
USCity Directory — A
national network of state and city directories.
Y.E.S. — A
non-profit organization offering creative, healthy, and family
oriented activities to serve the needs of youth in communities
across the
Navajo Nation.
Friends of GrandCanyonPrints.com
Courtney
Pulitzer Creations — Fostering relationships between people
who contribute to the world technically, artistically and socially.
Daily Eats— A
great all-about-food site written by our friend and Grand Canyon backpacking
buddy, Tery Spataro.
Grand Circle Field School — Offering educational adventures in
and around the Arizona Strip.
Keith Perry Photography — Specializing
in unique, high-end wedding and studio photography in Greater Phoenix.
Kim Buchheit - Buchheit
Creative Services — Offering a wide range of creative services
to assist small to mid-size businesses
in achieving their advertising, design, web, and communication goals.
PhotoClicks — Photographer's
directory
PhotographySites.com — A
thematic photography directory designed to promote the exchange of traffic
among similar types of online photo galleries.
SeeJaneShoot.com — Longtime
friend and expert photographer, Jane Melgaard.
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