The History Of The Grand Canyon National Park

The Grand Canyon National Park is visited by millions of people every year who travel to the State of Arizona to simply catch a glimpse at the park’s beautiful scenery. The National Park is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world for its breathtaking landscape and the diverse wildlife inhabiting it. The canyon appears to look like a gigantic hole carved up on the ground in which there are visible lines of different colors indicating the pattern of erosion that took place millions of years ago (“Grand Canyon,” 2013). Observing the view is truly amazing as it is known for being one of the deepest gorges on earth, measuring to more than a mile in depth. In addition, the Canyon measures 277 miles long and 10 miles wide. Although it is not the largest in the world, it is without a doubt the most famous and thus, has been preserved as a national park (“Grand Canyon,” 2013).

This majestic place came into existence about 6 million years ago as a result of continuous erosion by the Colorado River. Millions of years ago, the Colorado River began streaming south through Arizona on its way to the ocean as it continuously broke pieces of rock and carried it downstream. Over time, the erosion carved a hole in the rocks that had built up, and the canyon was created. After all its layers had formed, shifting plates collided and pushed the entire area straight up (Weeks, 2014). Three-hundred years later, geological forces like weathering and erosion lifted the rocks into an array of mountains, and eventually the mountains eroded into a plain. As shown in history, geological forces wore down these mountains as well (TLC, 2006). Ages later, the area sank underneath an inland sea. There were ancient shellfish that fossilized the sea ...

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... the surface and groundwater with pollution for a lifetime. Still to this day, uranium mining continues to pose a risk to the lives of people, animal and plant species, and the National park in itself (Nimkin & Billington, 2013).

The Grand Canyon National Park faces many challenges today, however, the park plans to fix these problems. For the future, the national park plans to continue to reserve the land for public use, protect its natural resources, exotic species, and endangered species (Weeks, 2014). The park also wishes to implement a variety of programs to address the issue of climate change and to prevent pollution in the atmosphere by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from park operations. Indeed, the park’s main goal is to educate present as well as future generations to act green so that the beautiful landscape can continue to be preserved (Weeks, 2014).