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The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
The Grand Canyon - history and facts
The first successful boat trip down the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon was made in 1869, by Major John Wesley Powell and his party of nine. By the late 1900s, the spectacular beauty of the Canyon began to draw both visitors and businessmen alike.
The Grand Canyon became a national monument in 1908 and on February 26, 1919, it was designated as the seventeenth national park.
Today, five-million people a year visit the Grand Canyon.
To hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon requires at least one full day down and one full day back up.
A river trip along the full length of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon can be done in as little as a week in a motor powered raft or may take as long as two or three weeks in an oar powered raft or dory.
Shorter half-Canyon trips are also possible.
River trips and mule trips fill up quickly and it is not uncommon for them to be booked up to six months or a full year in advance depending on the time of year.
