The Grand Canyon is neither the longest nor the deepest canyon in the world. They say it’s the grandest of them all. And who can dispute that? Look at the many layers of rock that have been exposed here, the colors they display, the details on the canyon-walls and the network of side canyons that add to the grandeur.
The puzzling story of the Grand Canyon
To put it in the simplest form we could say that the Grand Canyon is a large canyon carved by the Colorado River. But if you were to stand there and stare at this canyon, you might even wonder if that’s all it is. From several viewpoints on the south rim, you don’t even see the river that is said to have carved out this natural wonder. Then at some viewpoints, you catch a glimpse of it. Far below the rim, over a mile deep is what looks like a calm, unassuming stream of water minding its business and just trying to navigate the red rocks on its path to the Gulf of California.
You wonder how all this happened. You marvel at the amount of work the river has done here. You ponder over the number of years it might have taken to carve out the unique rocky landscape here.
Dig deeper and you would learn that this is a place that might have seen the collision of tectonic plates, one of which was from the bottom of the ocean. While some experts say there might have been tall mountains here that eroded to become flatland, still others say the Colorado River must have cut through the area as the plateau rose and took
You realize that this is the confluence of many different natural phenomena; a giant jigsaw puzzle with several missing pieces.
The Travelogue
During our visit to the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, we made several stops on the South Rim of the canyon and viewed the sights from various
We started with a sunset at Mather Point which is supposed to be the most popular viewpoints on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
The sun had gone down and what we first laid eyes upon, was a lowly lit rocky landscape.
When the sun rose above the horizon the next morning, we found ourselves at Yavapai Point, peering down at the lithic landscape and the intricate patterns carved out by natural forces. And there was no sight of the river that is said to be responsible for the wonderful Grand Canyon.
Later we walked into the Yavapai Geological Museum near this point. From the museum built at the edge of the rim, we got a peek at the canyon floor and the chief sculptor of the scene, the Colorado River.
Desert View Drive
Later we embarked on the Desert View Drive, a 22- mile scenic drive from the Grand Canyon Village toward the eastern part of the canyon. On the way we stopped at Grand View, Moran Point, Lipan Point and Navajo Point before we got to Desert View which marks the finish line of this route.
The Desert Watchtower is a 70ft high tower designed by architect Mary Coulter is a must-see on the South Rim. Go to the top of the building, and it offers sweeping views of the Grand Canyon. The tower with four floors also has a lot of art on its walls. More about that in another post.)
Hermit’s Route
The South Rim also has another route lined-with-vista
From Hermit’s Point we rushed back to Mather’s Point where we had started our tour of the Grand Canyon National Park, the previous evening and we were there just in time to see the setting sun bathe the red-rock-canyon in soft evening light.
Quick Facts about the Grand Canyon
- Where: Arizona, USA
- How long: 277 miles
- How Deep: around a mile
- How wide: up to 18 miles
- How old: a few millions of years, maybe.
Linking to — Our World Tuesday
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Beautiful photos of an amazing place!
Amazing place, indeed.
Thank you, Carol. 🙂
Wow..What a gorgeous series of pictures..!
Thank you so much, Murthy.
Grand Canyon is absolutely gorgeous.
Amazing.
That, the Grand Canyon is.
Thank you for stopping by, Jim.
Wow it is truly grand!
Hmm… isn’t it!! 🙂
Thank you for coming this way, Mridula. 🙂
Breath taking. Whutta place.
Absolutely!
Welcome here, Pisi. 🙂
Grand indeed – it’s been too long since I’ve been there.
🙂
It’s going to be the North Rim, next time?
The layers so evident. Very beautiful scenes.
I hope to see in real some day.
It’s quite a sight.
You must. It’s amazing. 🙂
Superb shots of this amazing place!
Thank you, Lady Fi. 🙂
Nature sure puts everything in the right perspective! Amazing views beautifully captured!
It sure does. 🙂
Thank you, Magiceye. 🙂
How I love the Grand Canyon! Your clear photos of the Colorado River amaze me. I wasn’t able to see the river clearly on my last trip there. I’d love to return!
I think it was a good time to visit. These pictures are from January.
I noticed that the river was more visible from the points that were farther away from the village (on both sides – the Desert View drive and the Hermit Rest Road).
Thank you for stopping by, Sharon. 🙂
Cannot get any more grander! Those frames speak how gorgeous it is.
It is such a work of art! And a reminder of how tiny we are. 🙂
Thank you for coming this way Nomad. Now come see the Grand Canyon in person. 🙂
That’s an elaborate look at the Grand Canyon? Did you miss some greenery or is that all that there is?
There’s very little vegetation in the canyon itself — only some scrub on the canyon walls.
There are quite a lot of trees and plants just outside the canyon, tho’ especially on the side that we were on — the South Rim. Across the canyon, the North Rim looked pretty barren.
Mesmerizing beauty of lands. Captures are wonderful.
The place is quite a wonder.
Thank you, Jyotirmoy. 🙂
Hi,
A very crisp travelogue, as usual, followed with beautiful images especially the ones showing desert and the river.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Bikram.
The Grand Canyon seems to be a one-of-a-kind of a place. 🙂
Thank YOU. 🙂
Simply WOW! Excellent pictures Divya, you brought to us the beauty of the grand wonder in all its grandeur!
It’s absolutely unique, is it not?
Thank you, Arti. It is such a pleasure to share these travel stories. I’m so, so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Wonderful part of the world – nature in action over many millions of years.
Hope you have a great Christmas – Stewart M – Melbourne
Oh yes, this is a bit of nature’s history on stone.
Thank you, Stewart. I hope you had a good Christmas. Happy New Year to you. 🙂
The gallery of well-framed images has the feel of a virtual reality tour. The information too is as meticulous as Colorado river.
Thank you, USP.
Welcome back.
That’s so kind of you. 🙂
Happy 2019!
Hi, the pictures are really tempting us to read the content…Loved the photography…Enjoyed reading☺️
Welcome here, Lakshmi.
Thank you so much.
Hope to see you here often. 🙂
I recently visited to Raneh falls which is also known as the mini canyon of India.