| | The Grand Canyon is one of nature's Wonders that she has sculpted with her own hands - and I mean it in the literal sense. It is a great chasm carved through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau over millions of years due to erosion - the river Colorado and its tributaries slowly etching their way through rocks dated billion-plus years to create the broad stripes. It is a 5000 ft deep, 446 km long, and up to 29 km wide gorge, rich with exceptional beauty and ancient geological history. |
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Located 247 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona, it is 1500 and 2700 km (5000 and 9000 feet) above sea level.
The climate of the plateau region above the Grand Canyon can swing between extremes of heat and cold. The canyon floor can also exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, but seldom experiences frost in the winter.
The Grand Canyon is truly 'grand' both in dimensions and in splendor. Spanish explorer and gold seeker Garcia Lopez de Cardenas was the first European to see the Grand Canyon. Having seen it from a height he underestimated its measurements, and was much amazed by the reality when his native companions told him otherwise. After three days of trying to find a passage down to the Faraway River, he and his team gave up. |
The Spanish made a few more journeys in the canyon; but they were missionaries concerned more with souls to save in the region than its beauty. They too soon gave up. American explorers themselves attempted at making inroads. The area has since been trapped and mined and grazed and wandered upon until after 33 years of trying, the federal government, in 1919 finally established the Grand Canyon National Park.
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Allwondersoftheworld.com will give you a more comprehensive idea and more amazing information about the Grand Canyon.
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