Highlights of countries

1. Grand Canyon

2. The size of Grand Canyon
• The Grand Canyon is one of the most
remarkable natural wonders in the world.
Located in the state of Arizona, USA, it is one
of the deepest gorges on Earth with an
average depth of one mile (1.6km) and an
average width of ten miles (16km). The
canyon was carved over the past 6 million
years by the action of the Colorado River as it
drops over 2,200 feet (670m) along the 277-
mile (446 km) length of the gorge.

3. Formation
• The Colorado Plateau, through which the canyon is
cut, was once the bottom of a shallow sea. Along the
rim visitors can still find fossilized snails, corals and
shell fish. Around 20 million years ago the land was
pushed upwards and the sea retreated. Around six
million years ago the Colorado River changed its
course and started cutting its way across the Plateau.
The uplift also added new tributaries to the river,
increasing the river's flow and adding many of the side
canyons. Water let loose from the glaciers of the ice
ages also increased the amount of water that was
moving down the river and giving it more power to
erode the stone. Within two million years the river had
sliced a path into the rock that was only 500 feet
higher than the bottom of the canyon is today.

4. HISTORY OF GC
• The first European that saw the Grand
Canyon was Garcνa Lσpez de Cαrdenas
from Spain, who visited the location in 1540
during a search for the fabled Seven "Gold"
Cities of Cibola. However, Native Americans
had already been familiar with the canyon for
thousands of years. The ancient Anasazi
people are the first thought to inhabit the area
starting about 1200 B.C.. For the last 800
years or so the Havasupai people have lived
in a part of the gorge known as Cataract
Canyon.

5. IMAGES