Grand Canyon, USA

The Grand Canyon is a wonderful year-round vacation destination and has millions of facts, info, stories, history, geology and areas to study. Learning the history and interesting facts about the Grand Canyon can be a lifelong venture of research and exploration.

Grand Canyon National Park covers 1,904 square miles (4,931 square kilometers) and includes an extensive system of tributary canyons. The highest points at the Grand Canyon are found at Point Imperial on the North Rim, which is 8,803 feet high, and Navajo Point on the South Rim, which is 7,498 feet high. Compare this to the elevation of the lowest point at Phantom Ranch on the bottom of the canyon floor, which is 2,400 feet high. The Grand Canyon averages 10 miles in width. Its narrowest point is in Marble Canyon, where it is 600 feet wide. Its maximum width of 18 miles is found at several different points. The greatest depths of the Grand Canyon extend just over 1 mile beneath its rim. The volume of the Grand Canyon is estimated to be 5.45 trillion cubic yards. The total length of the Colorado River is 1,450 miles. Within the Grand Canyon, it measures 277 miles from Lees Ferry in the east to Grand Wash Cliffs, near Lake Mead in Nevada. Speaking of the Colorado River, its average width in the Grand Canyon is 300 feet. It's narrowest width is 76 feet. The river’s average depth is 40 feet, while its greatest depth is a harrowing 85 feet! There are 373 species of birds, 91 species of mammals, 57 species of reptiles and amphibians, 17 species of fish (this number has dropped quite a bit in the last decade!) and more than 1,700 species of plants located in Grand Canyon National Park. There are also 8,480 known species of invertebrates (i.e., critters that don’t have an internal skeleton) at the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park has recorded more than 4,800 archeological sites, and it has only surveyed 3 percent of the park’s total area!

There are nine buildings at Grand Canyon National Park that are listed as National Historic Landmarks. Grand Canyon Village, which consists of 257 properties, is also listed as a National Historic Landmark District. More than 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon annually. Recent statistics show visitors roll into the park in 1.5 million cars and 30,000 tour buses. Also, 238,380 of them come by the Grand Canyon Railway and nearly 750,000 more arrive via small planes and helicopters.

South Rim

The south rim of the Grand Canyon is for the most part a desert. There is no surface water to be found anywhere in the area and there are few springs. The plants and animals that live on the south rim have, over millions of years, adapted to these conditions to present the flora and fauna that you see today. Trees like the Pinon Pine and Utah Juniper that require very little water and are very good at storing the little that happens to find their roots, do very well here. There are some groves of Douglas Fir scattered here and there along the south rim, most of these being in the area of the visitor center and along the Desert View Drive. Along with the conifers there is also a healthy population of cacti, agave and yucca plants on the south rim.

Some of the animals to be seen on the south rim include Mule Deer, Rock Squirrels, Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels, Ravens, Pinon Jays and a few Grand Canyon Bighorn Sheep.

All of the water that is used on the south rim comes from Roaring Springs, at the junction of Bright Angel and Roaring Springs Canyons on the north rim. The water flows through a pipeline from the pumping station at Roaring Springs, down Bright Angel Canyon, across the Colorado River, and up to Indian Gardens, from where it is pumped up to the south rim. Breaks in the pipeline are not uncommon and can raise havoc with the water supply on the south rim.

North Rim

The north rim of the Canyon is sometimes referred to as the "other" Grand Canyon. It's a different world up there on the north side. The scenery is different, the climate is different, the plants and animals are different and even the people are different. This is the part of the Grand Canyon that the wild west never left. It is still very wild up there on the north side and the reason for that is probably because the place is so isolated. From the south rim, as the crow flies, the north rim is only 12 miles away, but by automobile it's a long drive of 215 miles, and 5 hours to the other side. This discourages a lot of visitation and keeps the north rim wild, secluded and peaceful. The normal hustle and bustle that the peak tourist season sees on the south side never really happens on the north side. To visit the north rim is to understand the meaning of the term 'laid back'. Who knows, maybe it was invented there.

The plant life on the north rim is adapted to a much wetter climate. It rains much more frequently on the north rim than the south and the winters on the north rim are much more intense with snowfalls of up to 25 feet (7.7 m) not being uncommon. Because of this damp climate the large conifers such as the Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine are the dominant trees. Deciduous trees, such as the Birch and Aspen are also to be found in scattered groves. There are also many large fields of grass located on the north rim which makes it an ideal location for grazing.

Some animals that can be found on the north rim are Mule Deer, Rock Squirrels, Kaibab Squirrels, Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels, Ravens, Pinon Jays, Steller's Jay, Wild Turkeys, Coyote, Lynx, Mountain Lion and Bear.

The Park

The south rim is open all year. The north rim roads are closed after the first major snow of the season which normally occurs around mid-October. The road does not typically reopen until sometime in early to mid-May depending on snowfall. The north rim is, however, open even when the roads are closed. Cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing are popular winter activities on the north rim. The park is closed to snow mobiles.

The park offers a wide variety of visitor programs and activities, some of these being ranger talks, and ranger led hikes, campfire programs and special programs for children. Anyone planning to camp below the rim must first obtain a Backcountry Permit from the Backcountry Office. If you intend on doing any hiking in the Canyon you should not do this without first consulting a ranger at either the Main Visitor Center or the Backcountry Office.

Backcountry permits are not required for camping on the rim. You must, however, camp in designated campsites only. The number of sites is limited and they fill up quickly during the prime tourist season (June through August). Some of the campgrounds require reservations in advance and others operate on a first-come, first-served basis.