Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

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The Grand Canyon is a mile-deep gorge in northern Arizona. Scientists estimate the canyon may have formed 5 to 6 million years ago when the Colorado River began to cut a channel through layers of rock. Humans have inhabited the area in and around the canyon since the last Ice Age. The first Europeans to reach the Grand Canyon were Spanish explorers in the 1540s. President Benjamin Harrison first protected the Grand Canyon in 1893 as a forest reserve, and it became an official United States National Park in 1919. Located in Arizona, the Grand Canyon National Park encompasses 277 miles (446 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Park boundaries extend beyond canyon walls to include 1,904 square miles (1,218,376 acres) of which 94 percent is managed as wilderness. It is particularly important to gateway-community economies including Tusayan, Cameron, Williams, Flagstaff, Jacob Lake, Peach Springs, and Marble Canyon, Arizona, and Kanab and Fredonia, Utah. It also maintains government-to-government consultative relationships with 11 Federally recognized tribes, who consider Grand Canyon their place of origin. Park infrastructure includes 1,600 assets, including over 600 trail miles, 228 road miles, 1,139 lodging units in eight hotels, 544 rim campsites in three campgrounds, and 70 inner canyon campsites in four campgrounds. With five to six million visitors estimated yearly, Grand Canyon provides recreational experiences, including access to a paved-path walk to a moderate hike, a backcountry expedition, or technical river trip. The park also provides a broad spectrum of activities including rafting, hiking, sightseeing, and bicycling. Since 2000, the park has offered year-round shuttle service, with over 7.6 million boardings.

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