The Grand Canyon is one of the most amazing places on Earth. Carved by the Colorado River, the steep cliffs of the canyon expose 2 billion years of the Earth's history including Paleozoic and Proterozoic Strata. It is a marvelous example of natural erosion and one that cannot be seen anywhere else.

While it's been there in its current form for millions of years, it wasn't really explored much until after the Civil War, although one of the first records of this beautiful area dates to 1540 when it was explored by Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas from Spain who wrote that the rocks in the canyon would probably even then the Tower of Seville. Today, it is visited by many and is home to one of the oldest US National Parks - the Grand Canyon National Park. We can thank Theodore Roosevelt for pushing conservation of this beautiful area that he himself loved to visit.

The Grand Canyon boasts over 277 miles of scenic beauty and, in some places, is over 1 mile deep. While there are deeper canyons, there are none that are known for their beautiful color like the Grand Canyon. The canyon itself is actually only five or 6 million years old but the cutting down and erosion revealed geologic exposures which are much older. At the bottom of the inner Gorge you can see Vishnu Schis that is 2 billion years old and perhaps the oldest exposure in the canyon. For something more recent you might look on the Rim for the Kaibab Limestone which is only about 230 million years old.

The interesting thing about the Grand Canyon is that it was formed over such a long period of time some of the formations were actually deposited in the warm shallow seas and swamps that once advanced and retreated over this area. Some other deposits were from the desert regions of the area. In fact, this area has been shaped by deserts, seas, ice ages and even volcanoes. Most of the strata of the canyon was actually formed underwater and is exposed down to its heights of 5000 to 10,000 feet due to the uplifting of the Colorado Plateau - a process which began around 65 million years ago.

The Grand Canyon hosts about 5 million visitors every year. Many come for the exquisite and awe-inspiring view but there are plenty of other things to do and see in the canyon. For the sports minded and adventurous, there is hiking, kayaking and white water rafting on the Colorado River. For the sightseers, the South Rim is home to several historical buildings including the Buckey O'Neill Cabin cabin built in 1890, Kolb Studio (1904), The El Tovar Hotel (1904), Hopi House (1905), Verkamp's Curios (1905), Grand Canyon Railway Depot (1909)Lookout Studio (1914), Desert View Watchtower (1932) and Bright Angel Lodge (1935).

The weather can be a little tricky in the Grand Canyon and it really depends on the elevation. The forested Rims can get snow but from the Colorado River to the inner Gorge the weather is more like Arizona desert weather of Tucson. It is typically dry in the Grand Canyon but there are huge rainstorms twice a year in the winter and late summer. Temperatures can range to above 100°F in the summer and below 0°F in the winter so visitors would be smart to get a weather forecast if they are planning on doing any hiking rafting.