The Grand Canyon

is located in
Arizona and
stretches to
Colorado. The
Grand Canyon is a
national park and
has become a
national landmark.
People from all
over the world
travel to see the
Grand Canyon.
 The Grand Canyon is 18 miles
wide. At average the Canyon is
5,000 ft deep. The Grand
Canyon is 227 miles long. The
Canyon takes up 1,218,376
acres of land. The Canyon is on
a tilt the north rim is 1200 ft
higher than the south rim. Trip
to the bottom of canyon on foot
or camel is a 2-day trip. At the
deepest part of the canyon is
6,000 vertical feet. The Grand
Canyon is NOT the biggest
canyon in the world. Barranca
de Cabre in Northern Mexico
and Hell’s Canyon in Idaho are
deeper. The Grand Canyon is
known for the amazing size and
beautiful landscape.
 The Canyon’s walls are made
up of rocks, cliffs, hills, and
valleys. The Grand Canyon
rocks were formed millions of
years ago. Bottom of the
canyon receives 8 inches per
year (between rainwater and
snowmelt). Some parts of the
northern rim are frosted. The
Canyon has buttes, mesas and
valley in it’s main gorge. The
Grand Canyon is found mostly
in Northern Arizona but it
extends through some western
states.
 Three thousand to four thousand years
ago desert archaic people lived in the
Grand Canyon. The Pueblo Indians
built adobe house around the canyon
and made animal figures out of one
twig. The Hopi Indians believe that
when they die, their spirits emerge here
and rest here. The first American
person to cross the Colorado River
upstream was Hamblin in 1864. In
1869 Major John Wesley Powell made
a journey through the Grand Canyon by
way of the Colorado River. By 1880 live
stock companies began to raise
100,000 cattle and 250,000 sheep. In
1905 a world-class hotel, the El Tovar,
was built right on the rim of the canyon.
Every year since 1917 when the Grand
Canyon became a national park there
have millions people visiting this
beautiful place.
Grand Canyon Trivia &
Facts
 Grand Canyon is located at Latitude 36°, Longitude -112°
 State: Arizona
 County: Coconino - Grand Canyon lies within Coconino County. This is the official site
for the county.
 Time Zone: Mountain (never changes to Daylight Savings Time, so much of the year
the time is the same as in California).
 Grand Canyon established as a forest preserve in 1892
 Became a national monument in 1908
 Designated a national park in 1919
 National park enlarged in 1975
 Total acreage: 1,215,375
 Length in air miles: 190
 Length in river miles: 277
 Minimum width: 600 feet at Marble Canyon
 Maximum width: 18 miles
 Average width: 10 miles
 Minimum width of Colorado River: 76 feet
 Average width of Colorado River: 300 feet
 Maximum depth of river: 85 feet
 Average depth of river: 40 feet
 Number of rapids: 160
 River average gradient: 8 feet per mile
 Total miles of trails in the park: 400
 Total number of those trail miles that are maintained:
30.7
 Number of miles of roads: 355
 Number of bird species in park: 287
 Number of mammal species: 88
 Number of reptile and amphibians species: 58
 Number of plant species: 1,500
 Number of fish species: 26
 Number of biotic life zones in the park: 5 (the same as
traveling from Mexico to Canada)
 Endangered wildlife species: 3 (bald eagle, peregrine
falcon, humpback chub)
 Endangered plant species: 2 (Brady pincushion cactus
and sentry milkvetch)
 Number of known archaeological sites within the park:
2,700
 Number of Indian reservations in the park: 1
(Havasupai)
 Number of buildings listed as National Landmarks:
120
 Number of structures on National Register of Historic
Places: 136
Did you know in the Grand Canyon
lives 88 different species of mammal,
50 species of reptiles, 25 species of
fish, and 300 species of bird. In 1540
the first white man Francsico
Conronado discovered the Grand
Canyon. In 1919 congress made
Grand Canyon Preserve a National
Park. The Climate at the Grand
Canyon is semi-arid. Humans once
lived in the Grand Canyon around
4,000 years ago. The south rim of the
Grand Canyon is a grayish green
forest. Inside the Grand Canyon is 30
degrees higher then on rim. Rain
comes suddenly in violent storms
(usually in late summer).