We meet again for the second post of a series of 3 articles on my last trip to the United States! This week, I suggest you to explore the Grand Canyon in Arizona!
The Grand Canyon, this gigantic breach!
A bit of geography and history…
The Grand Canyon is located in the state of Arizona in the United States of America. It is a gorge that stretches for nearly 450 km long and was dug by the Colorado River which goes through it!
Its depth is on average 1300m and its width extends from 5.5 km to 30 km (not bad no?). This is not the largest canyon in the world but it is still impressive by the views offered and the different layers that are visible!
The Grand Canyon National Park covers nearly 5000 km2 of land for the delight of tourists who come every year!
It can be traced back up to about 1.7 billion years to describe the history of the Grand Canyon. I’m not going to do a geology course (I do not pretend to have the ability) but know that the current structure of the Grand Canyon is due to the erosion of different types of rocks in successive strata during different geological periods. It even seems that some volcanoes have also helped to give the site its appearance and its colours so characteristic!
Be amazed in front of the Grand Canyon!
Images often say much more than a thousand words so I let these few shots share with you my feelings about the Grand Canyon: happiness, amazement and the feeling of being (very) small!
A bit of advice for your visit!
- Go the Visitor Center to get a map
- Don’t be afraid to walk between points of view (that’s how you’ll see the most)
- Plan your trip with the map as it’s a huuuuge site
- If you’re tired: hop on a free shuttle!
- Bring loads of water if you go during summer (it’s scarce there!)
Something unexpected!
Discover the most dangerous creatures of the Grand Canyon!!!!
And yes! The little squirrels you find too cute are the creatures against which the Park warns you the most! Indeed, it seems that these cute little beasts are potential carriers of diseases such as the plague and they can become quickly aggressive if they are fed (and thus bite you and infect you with illnesses!). Let’s keep our distances then! 😉
The other blog post of this series:
- Under Death Valley’s furnace!
- Fabulous Las Vegas (soon)
À bientôt ❤️
Marion
