Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the 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 it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet / 1,800 metres) Nearly two billion years of the Earth's geological 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. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to the point we see it at today.

Before European immigration, the area was inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon ("Ongtupqa" in Hopi language) a holy site and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.

 Grand Canyon Skywalk

skywalk

 The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a horseshoe shaped cantilever bridge and tourist attraction in Arizona near the Colorado River on the edge of a side canyon in the Grand Canyon West area in the main canyon. USGS topographic maps show the elevation at the Skywalk's location as 4,770 ft (1,450 m) and the elevation of the Colorado River in the base of the canyon as 1,160 ft (350 m), and they show that the height of the precisely vertical drop directly under the skywalk is between 500 ft (150 m) and 800 ft (240 m).

Commissioned and owned by the Hualapai Indian tribe, it was unveiled March 20, 2007, and opened to the general public on March 28, 2007. It is accessed via the Grand Canyon West Airport terminal or a 120-mile (190 km) drive from Las Vegas, which includes a 10-mile stretch of dirt road which is currently under development. The Skywalk is east of Meadview and north of Peach Springs with Kingman being the closest major city.

 

Havasu Creek

havasu creek

Havasu Creek starts out above the canyon wall as a small trickle of snow run-off and rain water. This water meanders on the plains above the canyon for about 50 miles (80 km) until it enters Cataract (Havasu) Canyon. It then reaches Havasu Springs, where an underground river feeds the creek. This spring can be accessed by heading upstream when the creek is first encountered. The water stays at about 70 °F (21 °C) all year around. The creek is well-known for its blue-green color and distinctive travertine formations. This is due to large amounts of calcium carbonate (lime) in the water that formed the limestone that lines the creek and reflects its color so strongly. This also gives the creek an interesting feature as it is ever changing. This occurs because any items that fall into the stream mineralize very quickly, causing new formations and changing the flow of the water. This causes the creek to never look the same from one year to another. The creek runs through the village of Supai, and it ultimately flows into the Colorado River.

Havasu Falls

havasu falls

Havasu Falls is the second waterfall in the canyon. Havasu is arguably the most famous and most visited of all the falls, and is considered one of the most photographed waterfalls in the world. The falls consist of one main chute that drops over a 120-foot (37 m) vertical cliff (due to the high mineral content of the water, the falls are ever-changing and sometimes break into two separate chutes of water) into a large pool.

The falls are known for their natural pools, created by mineralization, although most of these pools were damaged and/or destroyed in the early 1990s by large floods that washed through the area. A small man-made dam was constructed to help restore the pools and to preserve what is left. There are many picnic tables on the opposite side of the creek and it is very easy to cross over by following the edges of the pools. It is possible to swim behind the falls and enter a small rock shelter behind it.

It is interesting to note that the falls were called "Bridal Veil Falls" before the flood of 1910 because they fell from the entire width of the now dry travertine cliffs north and south of the present falls.

Navajo Falls 

navajo falls

Until the August 2008 flooding, Navajo Falls was the first prominent waterfall in the canyon. They were named after an old Supai chief. The falls were approximately 70 feet tall and consist of separate sets of water chutes, the main one located on the right side where the water cascades down the canyon hill. To the left of the main chute there are other smaller ones that are steeper and more vertical. There are a few places that are viable for cliff jumping, although extreme care and caution should always be taken.

navajo falls dry

 In August 2008, Navajo Falls was completely destroyed by a flood. The New York Times said the following: "Within 12 hours, several surges of high water roared down the creek, destroying the campground, stranding a Boy Scout troop from New Jersey and setting off a massive mudslide that obliterated Navajo Falls, one of four spectacular canyon waterfalls that attract tourists from around the world".

Mooney Falls

mooney falls

Mooney Falls is the third main waterfall in the canyon. It is named after D. W. "James" Mooney, a miner, who in 1882 decided to mine the area near Havasu Falls for minerals. The group then decided to try Mooney Falls. One of his companions was injured, so James Mooney decided to try and climb up the falls with his companion tied to his back, and subsequently fell to his death. 

The pool is the largest of the three, and along with the others there are some places for cliff-jumping. It is possible to swim to the left of the falls to the rock wall, and then shimmy your way across the rock to a small cave that is located just above the water line, approximately 15–20 feet (5 to 6 meters) away from the falls. There is an island located in the middle, which breaks the pool into two streams.

 

Beaver Falls

beaver falls

Beaver Falls is arguably the fourth set of falls, although many claim that it is not a waterfall, but merely a set of small falls that are located close to each other.

Beaver Falls was once much more impressive. It had a height of about fifty feet in one fall, right at the junction of Beaver Canyon and Havasu Canyon. The great flood of January 1910 destroyed it, leaving the falls over the limestone ledges as they are today. Rotted cottonwood logs near the aforementioned junction show how high the water rose during that flood.