US National Parks Codexery

Grand Canyon

A mile-deep canyon carved by the Colorado River, revealing nearly two billion years of Earth's history.

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Grand Canyon

via Wikipedia: Grand Canyon National Park · see source

Within Coconino and Mohave counties, Grand Canyon National Park spans 1,217,262 acres and saw more than 4.9 million people visit for recreation during 2024.[1]

Geography and history

The Grand Canyon National Park Act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson on February 26, 1919.[2] In 1975, the Grand Canyon National Monument and Marble Canyon National Monument were made part of the park.[3] The Colorado River's gorge, the Grand Canyon, serves as the park's central geographical feature.[1] 90% of all park visits occur at the South Rim, which is easier to reach than the North Rim.[4]

Because of heavy snowfall, the North Rim, which sits above 8000 ft in elevation, shuts down annually from December 1 through May 15.[4] Senator Benjamin Harrison first proposed a bill to create Grand Canyon National Park in 1882.[2] February 26, 2019, marked the park's 100th anniversary.[5]

What the cited sources add

The National Park Service reports that a flash flood on August 29 caused extensive damage to the Transcanyon Waterline, leaving the park with limited water reserves.[6] Effective August 31, 2026, all park concessions will halt overnight accommodations due to this flood damage.[6] The 1987 National Parks Overflights Act found that aircraft noise at Grand Canyon National Park is causing a significant adverse effect on natural quiet.[7] In 1905, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway constructed the El Tovar Hotel as a luxury accommodation.[8]

The Grand Canyon Lodge's main building has burned down on two occasions: first in September 1932 and then again in July 2025.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Crane, "National Parks by Popularity 2024", Park Quest, 2025-04-19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Archived copy"; ; Yanagihara, "Grand Canyon National Park", Lonely Planet, 2008, p. 95 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The National Parks: Index 2012–2016", National Park Service (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "North Rim", Grand Canyon National Park (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Grand Canyon Centennial History" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Lodging", National Park Service. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
  7. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Overflights – Documents – Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harrison, "Architecture in the Parks: National Historic Landmark Theme Study", Department of the Interior, 1986; "National Park Service: Rustic Architecture 1916–1942", National Park Service; Glick, "National Park Service Rustic: Historic Architecture of California", 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Grand Canyon National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lodging", National Park Service; "Campgrounds – North Rim", National Park Service; "Grand Canyon Lodge Burned", Tulsa World, September 2, 2025, p. 1; "Wildfire destroys historic Grand Canyon Lodge, forces North Rim closure for the season", NBC News, 2025-07-13 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Grand Canyon National Park (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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