Grand Canyon: The Story Behind the Scenery

Nowhere else on earth has nature produced so striking an example of the power of running water--and in doing so, exposed so much of the early history of the North American continent. The mile-deep gorge and the ancient land around it, disappearing on the horizon in either direction, are among the last sanctuaries in North America of the wild and inaccessible.

The Grand Canyon presents a spectacle of awesome grandeur and natural historical significance unequaled elsewhere on earth. This is a classic example of erosion--the wearing away of the land--the tremendous chasm's cliffs and slopes of many varied hues.

Grand Canyon National Park, located in northern Arizona, established in 1919, preserves the finest continuous geologic record on earth.