Grand Canyon

One of the seven wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon attracts more than 5 million visitors every year. Its colorful, steep-sided cliffs rise thousands of feet above the winding Colorado River. The river that, over the past six million years, has formed this magnificent natural phenomenon. The canyon extends 217 miles long, is one mile deep, and has a width that ranges depending on location from four to eighteen miles across. Remarkably, the geology of The Grand Canyon is one of the most complete sequences of rock anywhere, showing a period of up to 2 billion years within its cliff faces. There are nearly 40 identified rock layers here, and the canyon walls are some of the most studied sequences of rock in the world. The slope of the Colorado River is still steep enough to possibly cut another 1200 to 2000 feet into the canyon.

Within the canyon, the history of human inhabitants dates back 10,500 years when ancient Native Americans, the first of which were the Anasazis, lived at the rim and inner canyon. Various tribes of Native Americans have inhabited the canyon since, including the Hualapai and Havasupia, Southern Paiute, Navajo and Hopi tribes which represent the Grand Canyon today. The first documented case of Europeans visiting here was in 1540, when Hopi guides led Spanish explorers in an unsuccessful search for gold and the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. Centuries later, at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe transferred the Grand Canyon to the United States.

To get an up-close and personal view of the canyon, several activities are available. Among the most popular are aerial sightseeing tours, available throughout the year. Choose from an Airplane or Helicopter, picnic or barbeque, boat or ground tour, there's something for everyone. The hardest part will be which tour to choose, as you will want to see it all! So stay overnight, add a hummer tour, and for the particularly adventuresome, a walk out on the Grand Canyon Skywalk is a must do. A Popular Science Award recipient, opened in 2007, and was created to enable visitors to walk beyond the canyon walls, becoming surrounded by the Grand Canyon while standing at the edge of the Glass Bridge. Suspending more than 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the edge of the Canyon's West Rim. A balance between form, function and nature, the bridge gives the Hualapai Tribe a chance to share this wonder of the canyon. So whether you take a preset tour or build your own with our customizable charters, your time spent in the Canyon is sure to please!