Grand Canyon, USA - history and interesting facts

In the U.S. state of Arizona is the Grand Canyon, one of the main natural attractions of North America. It is a huge depression 446 kilometers long, whose depth in some places reaches 1,800 meters. How did such a bizarre object arise and what is its history?

How did the canyon come to be?

The Colorado River runs along the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It is the river that, over millions of years, has created the topography of this area. Previously, the riverbed was flat, but about 65 million years ago there were geological changes.

The Colorado Plate went up. Because of this, the angle of the river changed, there was an increase in its velocity, and so it began to erode the bedrock. Even today, the Colorado River, flowing through the bottom of the canyon, continues to deepen it.

However, the canyon grows not only in depth, but also in width, and this is already a consequence of the erosive impact of air masses. If at the depth the width of the depression is about 1 kilometer, then at the upper level it varies in the range from 6 to 29 kilometers.

Another reason for its growth is strong temperature fluctuations. The stones expand due to heating and contract due to cooling. A large number of such cycles leads to the appearance of microcracks, which then expand leading to the destruction of the canyon walls.

History of Study

The first traces of human activity in the Grand Canyon are cave paintings. They date back to the 1st millennium BC. Europeans learned about it only in 1540.

The Spaniard García de Cárdenas is credited with discovering it. The second time Europeans visited this natural wonder was only in 1776, when the Spanish military tried to find a land route to the Pacific coast of North America.

Scientists first surveyed the canyon only in 1869. John Powell's expedition studied the area in detail and mapped it.

Today there are several reservations that are home to the Native American population. They make their living from tourists. Each year the Grand Canyon is visited by more than 4 million people. Especially popular is the Skywalk observation deck.

It protrudes 20 meters above the abyss, and its base is made of transparent materials. Tourists who find themselves on it can look down from a height of 1,219 meters. It can accommodate 120 people at a time, each of whom will have to pay $70 for an entrance fee.

Interesting Facts

The Grand Canyon is popular with extreme enthusiasts. For example, in 2013, Nicholas Wallenda stretched a rope over it and then climbed it from one side to the other without insurance. Tourists also regularly raft down the Colorado River.
You can constantly find parachutists here.

Especially popular is the wingsuit - jumping in a wingsuit. Usually extreme jumpers jump down parallel to the slope, gaining speed, and then fly along the canyon. In 2015, however, Roger Hugelshofer was able to fly over it. He started from an airplane at an altitude of 9,500 meters, and then in 8 minutes he covered the 8.5 kilometers that separated the edges of the canyon from each other.

Naturally, accidents sometimes happen. In 2012, the famous Eiliv Ruud died in the Grand Canyon. After about 150 meters of free fall, a sudden gust of wind sent the athlete straight to the cliff.

Previously, pilots of civilian planes that flew near the Grand Canyon deliberately circled it at close range so that passengers could admire it. But in 1956, two planes collided in the sky over the canyon, killing 128 people.

The disaster was the largest in the history of aviation at the time. Since then, such flights have been banned. However, in 1986 there was another collision, this time between an airplane and a helicopter. Twenty-five people died.

The canyon has been seen in films on numerous occasions. Among the most famous such pictures are "Thelma and Louise" and "Grand Canyon" from 1991, as well as "Vacation," made in 2015.