The Grand Canyon is one of the most studied geologic landscapes in the world. It offers a vast array of geologic features and rock types, an excellent record of three eras of geological time, and a diverse fossil record,. It is one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world.
In addition to its geologic significance it also contains several major ecosystems and great biological diversity due to the presence of five of the seven life zones, the equivalent to traveling from Mexico to Canada. The Park is also an ecological refuge, with relatively undisturbed remnants of dwindling ecosystems and is home to numerous rare, endemic, and protected (threatened/endangered) plant and animal species. Over 1,500 plant, 355 bird, 89 mammalian, 47 reptile, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species are found in the park.
A trip to the desert southwest is not complete without a visit to the Gand Canyon. I vist every time I get anywhere near.
What words can describe the Gand Canyon more than - WOW!
Grand Canyon National Park, a World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, encompasses 1,218,375 acres, on the Colorado Plateau in northwestern Arizona. A powerful and inspiring landscape, the Grand Canyon is . the one national park I consider a must see.
Even standing on it's edge, it is incomprehensible- the vastness, the beauty-. incised by the Colorado River it is 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep. It's immense size overwhelms our senses. I highly recommend hiking into it even if only a little bit. One realizes how utterly giagantic it is as the hotels and buildings along the rim become tiny spots on its edge before they dissappear completely in comparison while the path ahead seems none the less shorter.