Located entirely in northern Arizona, the park encompasses 277 miles of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. One of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world, Grand Canyon is unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers to visitors on the rim. Grand Canyon National Park is a World Heritage Site.

Grand Canyon was largely unknown until after the Civil War. In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran with a thirst for science and adventure, made a pioneering journey through the canyon on the Colorado River. He accomplished this with nine men in four small wooden boats. Though only six men completed the journey. His party was, as far as we know, the first ever to make such a trip.

Humans have been living at Grand Canyon for at least 4,000 years. Split twig figurines are the oldest evidence of their presence. These animal figurines are a few inches in height, made primarily from twigs of willow or cottonwood. They are found in caves below the rim. Split twig figurines were fashioned by the people of the Desert Culture.