P216 - USA - Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA (UNESCO WHS)

Grand Canyon National Park is one of the United States' oldest national parks and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the major natural wonders of the world. The park covers 1,902 mi² (4927 km²) of unincorporated area in Coconino County and Mohave County.
North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Most visitors to the park come to the South Rim, arriving on Arizona State Route 64. The Highway enters the park through the South Entrance, near Tusayan, Arizona, and heads eastward, leaving the park through the East Entrance. All park accommodations are operated by the Xanterra corporation. Park headquarters are at Grand Canyon Village, a short distance from the South Entrance, being also the center of the most popular viewpoints. Some thirty miles of the South Rim are accessible by road. A much smaller venue for tourists is found on the North Rim, accessed by Arizona State Route 67. There is no road connection between the two - Within Arizona - except via the Navajo Bridge, near Page, Arizona, entailing a five-hour drive. Otherwise, the two rims of the Canyon are connected via Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Hoover Dam.

The rest of the Grand Canyon is extremely rugged and remote, although many places are accessible by pack trail and backcountry roads.
Grand Canyon National Park on the Kaibab Plateau.

The area around the Grand Canyon became a national monument on January 11, 1908 and was designated national park on February 26, 1919. The creation Park status may have helped thwart proposals to dam the Colorado River within its boundaries. (Lack of this fame may have enabled Glen Canyon Dam to be built upriver, flooding Glen Canyon and creating Lake Powell.) UNESCO has declared it as a World Heritage Site.

The Grand Canyon itself, including its extensive system of tributary canyons, is valued for the combination of large size, depth, and the exposed layering of colorful rocks dating back to Precambrian times. It was created through the incision of the Colorado River and its tributaries after the Colorado Plateau was uplifted and the Colorado River system developed along its present path.

大峡谷国家公园（Grand Canyon National Park）是美国西南部的国家公园，在1979年被列为世界自然遗产，以深达1500米，由科罗拉多河耗费万年所切割出来的科罗拉多大峡谷景观闻名于世。位于美国亚利桑那州的西北角。整个大峡谷走向为东西向，总长有349公里，宽度从最窄的6公里到25公里。将大峡谷分为南缘跟北缘。整个国家公园总面积为1,217,403亩。在地形上是高原地形，该地的高原称为凯巴布高原（Kaibab）。

大峡谷国家公园是1908年美国总统罗斯福所提倡与规划的，初时只叫做国家纪念公园，在1911年划立了国家保护区。

1919年的2月26日，经过美国国会的法案通过，正式将大峡谷最深、景色最壮丽的一段，约有170公里长度的区域，成立了大峡谷国家公园，并建立起步道系统、生态与地质学的教育研究系统。

目前大峡谷国家公园是全美最受欢迎的国家公园之一，据统计，每年的参观人次约有400万。

References sources : Wikipedia