watch tower
Why the Grand Canyon is special "Grand" is an understatement. At its extremes, the Grand Canyon is 446 kilometers (277 miles) long, up to 29 kilometers (18 miles) wide from rim to rim. and over 1600 meters (a mile) deep. Vastness is just one of the mind boggling elements of the Grand Canyon that renders me nearly speechless. The setting is desolate, the contours are rugged, and the striated hues of the gorges and pinnacles are vibrant.,For many, the Grand Canyon epitomizes the ultimate American travel destination. Cleaving a mile deep into the earth and averaging 10 miles across, it compels even the most jaded traveler to pause and draw breath. Snaking along its floor are 277 miles of the Colorado River, which has carved the canyon over the past six million years and exposed rocks up to two billion years old – half the age of the Earth. Initially dismissed as little more than an obstacle to exploration, the canyon first drew 19th-century miners bent on exploiting its rich natural resources. Native American resistance and the lack of water slowed development, but by the time Frederick Jackson Turner declared the end of the American frontier in 1893, entrepreneurs had transformed the canyon into one of the country’s most celebrated destinations. At the dawn of the industrial revolution, people flocked here in search of the romanticized wilderness ideal and embraced its sublime beauty. They still
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