The Travelling Celts

A Hushed Reverence

by Michael Cameron

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. It is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile. The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.

Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, recent studies indicate that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. The River has been deepening and widening the canyon since then.

It was our second visit, we wanted to spend the night there, enjoying the sunset - and if we got up early enough, a sunrise. We managed both but unfortunately the weather was rather changeable, and the colours weren't as good as they could have been. Nonetheless the majesty of the place was well worth a second viewing.

Click the links below for the Grand Canyon photos and/or videos