Tourist Attractions

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, and the Havasupai Tribe. 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.(wikipedia)

The massive canyon encompasses several distinct areas, most famous of which is Grand Canyon National Park, a United States National Park. The national park is itself divided into two main areas: the remote North Rim and the more accessible (and therefore more crowded) South Rim.(wikipedia)

Most of the more than five million visitors per year choose to go to the South Rim, which has many more tourist facilities than the north side and, accordingly, tends to get action-packed during the summer season and even some winter weekends.

The southwestern end of the canyon is located within the borders of two Indian reservations: the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Hualapai Indian Reservation (also known as Grand Canyon West). All of the sections of the canyon offer amenities for visitors, but the national park, and in particular the South Rim, is by far the most popular destination and the best equipped to handle the millions of yearly visitors.

The North Rim is a quieter and more remote place and preferred by people who wish for a more serene, less crowded experience. The access road to the North Rim is frequently closed during winter due to snow.

Temperatures and weather within the park vary greatly by location. Temperatures on the North Rim are often 20-30°F (11-16°C) cooler than at the river. This is a land of extremes. It can be snowing at the rim, while others are comfortable sunbathing at the river. Conversely, it can be cool and comfortable at the rim in the summer, while temperatures at the river exceed 120°F (49°C). It is not unusual for local canyon guides to encounter neophyte hikers in desperate shape.(wikipedia)

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).[2] 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.(wikipedia)