The Grand Canyon became a National Park in 1919 and we are celebrating 100 years of it becoming one, this year. The Grand Canyon is a great tourist attraction and if you plan to visit you should know a few wonderful facts about this great place.
- Did you know that the Grand Canyon measures 1904 square miles, this means that the Grand Canyon is bigger than Rhode Island which is comparatively smaller and only measures 1212 square miles.
- Did you know that the Grand Canyon is believed to have around 1000 caves? Only a few hundred have been explored, the rest have not even been mapped yet. You can however visit one cave known as the Cave of the Domes.
- Did you know that nearly 6 million people visit the Grand Canyon every year? In fact, the Great Smoky Mountains is the most popular National Park with more number of visitors every year.
- Did you know that there is a horse shaped glass floor known as The Skywalk in Grand Canyon and you can get a bird’s eye view of the canyon from there. You can also go on Grand Canyon helicopter tours and enjoy the view from the air.
- Did you know that the distance between the South Rim and the North Rim is just 10 miles aerially? But if you drive it becomes difficult to reach on the same day itself because you need to traverse more than 210 miles, that’s how big and immense the Grand Canyon is.
- Did you know that many visitors get bitten by the rock squirrel? Though there are many animals in the Grand Canyon like the big horn sheep, the one animal that is known to bite visitors is the rock squirrel. People feed these animals and they have lost the fear of humans and instead of foraging for food, they attack people to get food easily. When in the Grand Canyon do not feed any animal because they need to have their animal instincts intact.
- Did you know that the Grand Canyon is home to pink snakes? Yes, you heard it right, pink snakes. There are 6 known species of rattle snakes that are found in the Grand Canyon and one of them has a pinkish hue. This makes the rattle snake to merge with the rocks and background and it becomes difficult to distinguish them from the rocks, a real nice camouflage.
- Did you know that the Peublo Indians were the original settlers in the Grand Canyon? Since food and shelter could be found easily the Peublo Indians settled here. Originally the Grand Canyon was considered a holy place and hence many tribes did not settle there.
- Did you know that the Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World? Yes, it is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.