Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park is a spectacular scenic area in northwestern Arizona. The park was established in 1919 and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park contains the Grand Canyon, one of the most famous scenic wonders in the world, which meanders for 446 km from the Paria River mouth near Lees Ferry, on the northern border of Arizona and Utah, to the Grand Wash Cliffs close to the Nevada state line. The canyon is a wide, intricately shaped gorge of imposing peaks, ridges, gorges and ravines, carved by the Colorado River over the past six million years. It is widest and deepest in the 90 km section where the river bends from south to west and northwest, where the canyon width reaches 29 km and the depth below the canyon rim is 1,800 meters. The main public areas of the park are the South and North Rims and the adjacent areas of the Canyon. Other parts of the park are very rugged and remote, but many places are accessible by pack trail and mountain paths. The South Rim is more easily reachable than the North Rim and attracts 90% of the park's visitors. The North Rim has few roads, but there are some remarkable vehicle-accessible viewpoints, including Point Imperial, Roosevelt Point and Cape Royal. The South Rim offers a range of activities for park visitors, there are driving and walking tours. Among the walking tours is the Rim Trail, which goes west from Pipe Creek viewpoint on a paved road for about 13 km, then 11 km on an unpaved road to Hermit's Rest. Private canyon flights are provided by helicopters and small aircrafts.