The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a colorful steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park — one of the first national parks in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
The canyon, created by the Colorado River over 6 million years, is 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29 kilometers), and attains a depth of more than a mile (1.6 km). Nearly two billion years of the Earth's history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted.

The Grand Canyon was largely unexplored until after the U.S. Civil War. In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran with a thirst for science and adventure, made the first recorded journey through the canyon on the Colorado River. He accomplished this trek with nine men in four small wooden boats, though only six men completed the journey. Powell referred to the sedimentary rock units exposed in the canyon as "leaves in a great story book".

ClimateSUMMER temperatures on the South Rim are relatively pleasant. North Rim temperatures are a few degrees cooler due to the higher elevation. Inner canyon temperatures are extreme. Daytime highs at the river often exceed 105°F. Thunderstorms frequently occur during July, August, and early September. WINTER conditions on the South Rim can be extreme. The road into the North Rim is closed from the first heavy snow in November or early December to mid-May. SPRING and FALL. Come prepared for a variety of conditions. Pleasant weather can change to rain or cold.