Grand Canyon Arizona
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
The Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center ( GCMRC ), the cornerstone of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program ( AMP ), was formally established in October of 1996. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, the GCMRC measures effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on the resources along the Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam to Lake Mead. The GCMRC 's scientific activities contribute to meeting the statutory requirements placed on the Secretary of the Interior by Congress via the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act, the 1995 Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement, and the 1996 Record of Decision. ... [Read More]
Grand Canyon Natl Park Visitor Information, Tuweep
Regulations: Please read and follow posted regulations. All park resources are protected by law. Collecting firewood, artifacts, or any natural resource is prohibited. Please sign your name in the overlook register, not in the sandstone. All wheeled vehicles must stay on established roads. Use caution near the edge and do not throw anything over the rim. Practice Leave No Trace principles and take only photographs. Geology The geologic history of the Tuweep area is similar to the rest of Grand Canyon, but includes a more recent chapter of volcanism. The Toroweap Fault underlies the valley, crosses the Colorado River, and continues south up Prospect Canyon. Volcanic activity began along this fault around seven million years ago. Over time lava issued from more than 60 vents. Beginning about 1.2 million years ago some flowed into Toroweap Valley, forming the flat-bottomed valley we see today. Vulcans Throne, Mount Trumbull and the Uinkaret Mountains are other features that are the res ... [Read More]
Grand Canyon National Park, A Quick Look
How Big Is It? The park includes over a million acres of land: 1,218,376 acres/ 493,077 hectares , or 1,904 square miles/ 4931 square km . Most people measure the canyon in Colorado River miles. By that standard, Grand Canyon is 277 miles/ 446 km long. It begins at Lees Ferry and ends at Grand Wash Cliffs. The Colorado River is longer than Grand Canyon, flowing 1450 miles/ 2333 km from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of California in Mexico. Grand Canyon is only one of many beautiful canyons carved by the river. Others include Cataract Canyon and Glen Canyon, the latter now lying beneath the waters of Lake Powell. Most people agree, however, that Grand Canyon is the most spectacular. No other place in the world looks quite like it. Width and depth of the canyon vary from place to place. At the South Rim, near Grand Canyon Village, it's a vertical mile (about 5000 feet/ 1524 m ) from rim to river, or 7 miles/ 11.3 km by trail. At its deepest, it is 6000 vertical feet/ ... [Read More]
Grand Canyon National Park, A Quick Look
The second geologic story at Grand Canyon concerns the origin of the canyon itself: when and how did it come to be? On one level the answer is simple: Grand Canyon is an erosional feature that owes its existence to the Colorado River. Of equal importance are the forces of erosion that have shaped and continue to shape the canyon today. These include running water from rain, snowmelt, and tributary streams which enter the canyon throughout its length. The climate at Grand Canyon is classified as semi-arid. The South Rim receives 15 inches/ 38 cm of precipitation each year. The bottom of the canyon receives 8 inches/ 20 cm . The rain comes suddenly in violent storms, particularly in the late summer of each year. The power of erosion is therefore more evident here than in other places which receive more rain. Grand Canyon owes its distinctive shape to the different rock layers in the canyon walls. Each responds to erosion in a different way: some form slopes, some form cliffs, some erod ... [Read More]
Grand Canyon National Park, Greenway
To find out how you can contribute to the Grand Canyon Greenway contact the Grand Canyon National Park Foundation at 928/774-1760, or at 625 North Beaver Street, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA, or visit them at www.grandcanyonfoundation.org . The Grand Canyon National Park Foundation is an independent, private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide financial support for the benefit of specific, capital-intensive projects at Grand Canyon National Park. ... [Read More]
Map Showing Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of the Granite Park Area, Grand Canyon, Arizona
View to west-northwest showing map area and setting of Granite Park; Grand Canyon, Arizona. Colorado River flows from right to left. Granite Park Wash is light-colored area in foreground of photograph and debris fan of 209 Mile Canyon is in left center. Pleistocene gravel is exposed in steep, light-colored bank above 209 Mile Rapids at left edge of photograph. Black ledge basalt flow of Hamblin (1994) forms dark cliff in near upper right of photograph. Sand dunes, debris fans, and terraces of the Colorado River are shown in lower half of photograph. ... [Read More]
Geology of Grand Canyon National Park
In 1901 the railroad was extended from Williams, Arizona to the South Rim, and the development of formal tourist facilities at the South Rim increased dramatically. By 1905 the El Tovar Hotel stood where it does today, a world class hotel on the canyon’s edge. The Fred Harvey Company, known throughout the west for hospitality and fine food, continued to develop facilities at Grand Canyon (including Phantom Ranch, built in the inner canyon in 1922). Although first afforded Federal protection in 1893 as a Forest Reserve and later as a National Monument, Grand Canyon did not achieve national park status until 1919, three years after the creation of the National Park Service. Today Grand Canyon National Park receives close to five million visitors each year – a far cry from the annual visitation of 44,173 which the park received in 1919. ... [Read More]
Maps of Grand Canyon National Park
Despite Roosevelt's enthusiasm and his strong interest in preserving land for public use, the Grand Canyon was notimmediately designated as a national park. The first bill to create Grand Canyon National Park had been introduced in 1882and again in 1883 and 1886 by Senator Benjamin Harrison. As President, Harrison established the Grand Canyon ForestReserve in 1893. Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve by proclamation in 1906 and GrandCanyon National Monument in 1908. Senate bills to establish a national park were introduced and defeated in 1910 and1911; the Grand Canyon National Park Act was finally signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. The NationalPark Service, which had been established in 1916, assumed administration of the park. ... [Read More]
Grand Canyon National Park - Nature & Science
For additional information on Grand Canyon National Park please visit the Park's website at www.nps.gov/grca . Visit http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/grandcan.html and http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/doc/mainf3.htm to learn about Grand Canyon National Park's World Heritage Site designation. The website address for the Grand Canyon Science Center Research Division is www.nps.gov/grca/research /. To see current research projects, visit www.nps.gov/grca/research/currproj.html . This site will link you to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and the NAU Ecological Restoration Institute. Information on research projects funded by the Grand Canyon Foundation can be found at www.GrandCanyonFoundation.org/projects.html and a comprehensive bibliography of documents related to Grand Canyon National Park can be viewed at www.grandcanyonbiblio.org/ . The Grand Canyon Aircraft Ov ... [Read More]
Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service)
This canyon is a gift that transcends what we experience. Its beauty and size humble us. Its timelessness provokes a comparison to our short existence. In its vast spaces we may find solace from our hectic lives. The Grand Canyon we visit today is a gift from past generations. ... The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view. It is more than a pleasuring ground for those who explore the roads, hike the trails, or float the currents of the turbulent Colorado River. ... [Read More]
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