National Parks › Desert Southwest › Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park

Arizona · Established February 26, 1919

A mile of stone and nearly two billion years laid open by a river

Area: 1,201,647 acres
Established: February 26, 1919
Recreation visits: 4,430,653 / yr
State: Arizona
Established: February 26, 1919
Area: 1,201,647 acres (4,863 km²)

Grand Canyon Weather Forecast

Loading the National Weather Service forecast for Grand Canyon…

Seven-day outlook at the park's reference point (36.000, -112.121). Elevation changes everything in the mountains — expect colder, windier and wetter conditions on high ground.

Map of Grand Canyon National Park

The Park

No other landscape lays out deep time as plainly as the Grand Canyon. From the rim, the eye travels down through horizontal bands of limestone, sandstone and shale, each a chapter of seas, deserts and river deltas, until it reaches dark, twisted schist nearly two billion years old at the bottom. The Colorado River, still at work below, carries the story forward.

Grand Canyon National Park was established on February 26, 1919, and today protects more than 1.2 million acres of northern Arizona. It is also a world of living extremes. Snow drifts in the ponderosa and spruce forests of the North Rim while the canyon floor bakes in desert heat, and between them a single hike passes through life zones that would otherwise take a journey from Mexico to Canada.

Geography

The canyon runs roughly 277 river miles through the Colorado Plateau, from Lees Ferry near the Utah border to the Grand Wash Cliffs at its western end. The South Rim, on the Coconino Plateau, holds Grand Canyon Village and most visitor facilities. Across the chasm, the North Rim rises over 8,000 ft on the Kaibab Plateau, high enough that its road closes from December until mid-May.

Point Imperial, on the North Rim, is the highest point on the canyon's rim at 8,803 ft. On the South Rim, Desert View Point, site of the historic watchtower, stands at 7,438 ft. Far below, the Colorado River flows at roughly 2,500 ft near Phantom Ranch, so temperatures at the bottom run 20 to 30 degrees warmer than on the rims.

Side canyons feed the main gorge from both sides: the Little Colorado River enters from the east, clear blue-green Havasu Creek joins from the south, and Deer Creek and Nankoweap Creek spill from the north. In the far west, the Uinkaret volcanic field left cinder cones like Vulcan's Throne perched above lava cascades frozen on the canyon walls.

Landmarks

Grand Canyon VillageAreaThe historic South Rim hub, home to El Tovar, the Bright Angel Trailhead and the busiest viewpoints.
Mather PointAreaOften the first view of the canyon for South Rim visitors, near the main visitor center.
Desert View WatchtowerArea · 7,438 ftMary Colter's 70-foot stone tower at the eastern end of the South Rim, on Desert View Point.
Phantom RanchAreaThe only lodging on the canyon floor, near Bright Angel Creek's confluence with the Colorado.
Bright Angel PointAreaA narrow promontory beside the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim.
Point ImperialPeak · 8,803 ftThe highest point on the canyon's rim, looking out over Marble Canyon and the Painted Desert.
Little Colorado River confluenceRiverWhere turquoise, mineral-rich water meets the Colorado and the endangered humpback chub spawns.
Deer Creek FallsWaterfallA spring-fed waterfall pouring from a slot canyon straight to the river's edge.
Havasu CreekRiverA travertine-lined creek whose blue-green water joins the Colorado in the western canyon.
Vulcan's ThroneVolcanoA cinder cone on the rim above Lava Falls, part of the Uinkaret volcanic field.
Lava FallsRiverOne of the most formidable rapids on the Colorado, below walls draped with ancient lava flows.

Geology

The canyon's story begins at the bottom with the Vishnu Basement Rocks. Around 1.75 billion years ago, sediments and volcanic ash in a marine basin were squeezed, heated and folded into schist and gneiss as island arcs collided with the young North American continent. Magma rose into them and cooled as the Zoroaster Granite. Mountains built by that collision eroded away completely.

Next came the tilted layers of the Grand Canyon Supergroup, deposited between about 1.2 billion and 740 million years ago and later faulted and mostly stripped away. Above them lies the Great Unconformity, a surface where hundreds of millions of years of history are missing, and then the familiar horizontal Paleozoic layers: the Tonto Group of Tapeats Sandstone, Bright Angel Shale and Muav Limestone; the red-stained Redwall Limestone; the Supai Group and Hermit Formation; the cross-bedded dune sands of the Coconino Sandstone; and the Toroweap Formation and Kaibab Limestone forming the rim.

Uplift of the Colorado Plateau began with the Laramide orogeny around 75 million years ago. How and when the river carved the canyon is still debated, but the opening of the Gulf of California about 6 million years ago gave the Colorado a route to the sea, and wetter Ice Age climates sped the cutting. In the last few hundred thousand years, lava from the Uinkaret volcanic field poured into the western canyon and dammed the river at least 13 times.

Deep time

About 1.75 billion years agoSediment and volcanic ash were metamorphosed into the Vishnu Schist during collisions with island arcs.
About 1.2 billion to 740 million years agoThe Grand Canyon Supergroup accumulated in coastal and shallow sea environments.
About 525 million years agoA rising Cambrian sea deposited the Tapeats Sandstone on the eroded Great Unconformity.
About 275 million years agoA vast desert of wind-blown dunes formed the Coconino Sandstone.
About 270 million years agoA warm, shallow sea laid down the Kaibab Limestone that caps the rims.
About 75 million years agoThe Laramide orogeny began lifting the Colorado Plateau.
About 6 million years agoThe opening of the Gulf of California helped establish the Colorado River's path to the sea.
725,000 to 100,000 years agoUinkaret lava flows repeatedly dammed the Colorado River in the western canyon.

The rocks

Vishnu SchistAbout 1.75 billion years
Dark, garnet-studded metamorphic rock of the Inner Gorge.
Zoroaster GraniteAbout 1.7 billion years
Pale granite and gneiss bands that intruded the Vishnu Schist.
Grand Canyon SupergroupAbout 1.2 billion to 740 million years
Tilted sedimentary and volcanic layers preserved in the eastern canyon.
Tapeats SandstoneCambrian, about 525 million years
A brown cliff of beach sand resting on the Great Unconformity.
Bright Angel ShaleCambrian, about 515 million years
Greenish slopes that form the broad Tonto Platform.
Muav LimestoneCambrian, about 505 million years
Gray limestone cliffs from deeper offshore water.
Redwall LimestoneMississippian
A 400 to 800 foot cliff of gray limestone stained red by iron from the layers above.
Supai GroupAbout 320 to 270 million years
Red sandstone and shale ledges from coastal plains and shallow seas.
Coconino SandstonePermian, about 275 million years
A pale cliff of fossil sand dunes with preserved trackways.
Kaibab LimestonePermian, about 270 million years
The fossil-rich, cream-colored caprock of both rims.

Trees, Plants & Ecosystems

1,746vascular plant species recorded

Riparian corridorAlong the Colorado River and side streams
Willows, cottonwoods and, since dam regulation, non-native tamarisk line the river, supporting flycatchers, beaver and native fish.
Desert scrubCanyon floor and lower slopes
Mojave and Great Basin desert plants such as brittlebush, agave, yucca and cacti tolerate intense summer heat.
Pinyon-juniper woodlandUpper canyon slopes and the South Rim
Low, open woodland of Colorado pinyon and Utah juniper with cliffrose and sagebrush.
Ponderosa pine forestSouth Rim highs and lower North Rim
Park-like stands of tall pines shared with Gambel oak and the tassel-eared squirrels.
Mixed conifer and spruce-fir forestHigh North Rim on the Kaibab Plateau
Cool forests of Douglas fir, white fir, Engelmann spruce and aspen with snowy winters and wildflower meadows.

Trees

Ponderosa pinePinus ponderosa var. scopulorumThe dominant tree of the South Rim forest, its bark smelling faintly of vanilla.
Colorado pinyonPinus edulisA small, nut-bearing pine vital to jays and rodents.
Utah juniperJuniperus osteospermaA drought-hardy partner of pinyon on the rims and upper slopes.
Gambel oakQuercus gambeliiA shrubby oak whose acorns feed deer, turkeys and squirrels.
Douglas firPseudotsuga menziesii var. glaucaGrows on cool North Rim slopes and shaded canyon niches.
White firAbies concolorA major component of the North Rim mixed conifer forest.
Engelmann sprucePicea engelmanniiFound in the highest, coldest forests of the Kaibab Plateau.
Quaking aspenPopulus tremuloidesIts groves light up the North Rim in golden autumn color.
Fremont cottonwoodPopulus fremontiiShades springs and side-canyon oases.
Western honey mesquiteProsopis glandulosa var. torreyanaMarks the old high-water line along the river in the lower canyon.
Goodding's willowSalix gooddingiiA native riparian tree of the river corridor.
SaltcedarTamarix ramosissimaA non-native shrub that spread along the river after Glen Canyon Dam tamed its floods.

Wildflowers, shrubs & other plants

Kaibab agaveAgave utahensis var. kaibabensisSends up a single towering flower stalk after decades, then dies.
Banana yuccaYucca baccataA stiff-leaved yucca pollinated by a single specialized moth.
Beavertail pricklypearOpuntia basilaris var. longiareolataThe Grand Canyon form of this cactus, with magenta spring flowers.
Mojave kingcup cactusEchinocereus triglochidiatus var. mojavensisClumping hedgehog cactus with scarlet, hummingbird-pollinated flowers.
BrittlebushEncelia farinosaSilvery desert shrub that covers lower slopes in yellow bloom.
CliffrosePurshia stansburianaFragrant cream flowers on rimrock shrubs in late spring.
Apache plumeFallugia paradoxaWhite roselike flowers followed by feathery pink seed heads.
Desert globemallowSphaeralcea ambiguaApricot-orange cups that bloom along trails and river beaches.
Crimson monkeyflowerMimulus cardinalisBright red flowers at dripping springs and seeps.
Common maidenhair fernAdiantum capillus-venerisDelicate fronds curtain wet travertine walls in side canyons.
Kaibab paintbrushCastilleja kaibabensisA rare paintbrush of the North Rim's Kaibab Plateau.
Antelope bitterbrushPurshia tridentataA browse shrub for mule deer on the rims.

Wildlife

91mammals
447birds
43reptiles
9amphibians
24fish

Mammals

Desert bighorn sheepOvis canadensis mexicanaNimble climbers often seen on ledges near the river.
Mule deerOdocoileus hemionusCommon at dawn and dusk on both rims.
ElkCervus elaphusNon-native to the region but now frequent on the South Rim.
Mountain lionPuma concolorRarely seen, it hunts deer across the rims and canyon.
BobcatLynx rufusA stealthy hunter of rabbits and rodents in woodland and scrub.
CoyoteCanis latransIts evening chorus carries across the canyon.
Kaibab squirrelSciurus aberti kaibabensisA tassel-eared squirrel with a white tail found only on the Kaibab Plateau of the North Rim.
RingtailBassariscus astutusA nocturnal, cat-sized relative of the raccoon that climbs cliffs with ease.
American bisonBison bisonA herd ranges onto the North Rim from the neighboring House Rock area.
PronghornAntilocapra americanaOccasionally seen in open grassland near the park's edges.
BeaverCastor canadensisDens in banks along the Colorado River.
Red squirrelTamiasciurus hudsonicusChatters from spruce and fir on the high North Rim.

Birds

California condorGymnogyps californianusEndangered vultures, reintroduced to northern Arizona, that soar over both rims on wings nearly ten feet across.
Peregrine falconFalco peregrinus anatumCliff-nesting falcons are especially numerous in the canyon.
Prairie falconFalco mexicanusA pale falcon of open country and rim cliffs.
Golden eagleAquila chrysaetosHunts along the rims and open plateaus.
Common ravenCorvus coraxAn acrobatic, clever resident of every overlook.
White-throated swiftAeronautes saxatalisRockets past cliff faces at dizzying speed.
Canyon wrenCatherpes mexicanusIts descending song echoes off canyon walls.
Rock wrenSalpinctes obsoletusBobs among talus and boulders.
American dipperCinclus mexicanusDives in clear side streams such as Bright Angel Creek.
Southwestern willow flycatcherEmpidonax traillii extimusAn endangered songbird nesting in riverside thickets.
Belted kingfisherMegaceryle alcyonRattles along the river hunting small fish.

Reptiles & amphibians

Grand Canyon rattlesnakeCrotalus oreganus abyssusA salmon-pink rattlesnake that blends with the canyon's rocks.
Gila monsterHeloderma suspectumA venomous, beaded lizard at the northern edge of its range in the western canyon.
Desert tortoiseGopherus agassiziiA rare, long-lived tortoise of the far western canyon.
Great Basin collared lizardCrotaphytus bicinctoresA big-headed lizard that can sprint on its hind legs.
Plateau fence lizardSceloporus undulatusCommonly seen doing push-ups on rim-side rocks.
Speckled rattlesnakeCrotalus mitchelliiA variably colored rattlesnake of rocky desert slopes.
Canyon treefrogHyla arenicolorA small, rock-colored frog of pools and seeps in side canyons.
Red-spotted toadAnaxyrus punctatusA flat-bodied desert toad that breeds after summer rains.

Fish

Humpback chubGila cyphaAn endangered native minnow with a pronounced hump, found mainly near the Little Colorado River.
Flannelmouth suckerCatostomus latipinnisA native sucker adapted to the Colorado's once-muddy flows.
Bluehead suckerCatostomus discobolusA native that scrapes algae from rocks in tributaries.
Speckled daceRhinichthys osculusThe most common small native fish in side streams.
Rainbow troutOncorhynchus mykissNon-native, thriving in cold water released from Glen Canyon Dam.

Species totals are the park's certified NPSpecies checklist (occurrence: present).

Climate & When to Visit

With nearly 6,000 ft of relief between the North Rim and the river, Grand Canyon holds several climates at once. The rims are cool plateaus with cold, snowy winters, while the Inner Gorge is a true desert whose summer heat can be dangerous. NPS rangers note that temperatures at the bottom typically run 20 to 30°F warmer than on the rims.

Winter storms from the Pacific bring snow to both rims, and the higher North Rim receives so much that its road closes until mid-May. Early summer is hot and very dry. From about July into September, the North American monsoon draws in moisture that builds afternoon thunderstorms, bringing lightning to the rims and flash floods into side canyons.

Spring
March through May warms quickly, but rim weather is fickle, with snow possible into May. The inner canyon is pleasant early in the season before heat builds.
Summer
June is hot and dry, with triple-digit heat common near the river. From July into September, monsoon thunderstorms bring lightning, brief downpours and flash flood risk.
Autumn
September and October bring cooler, settled weather and aspen color on the North Rim. It is an excellent time for rim-to-river hikes.
Winter
The South Rim stays open with snow, icy trails and cold nights. The North Rim road closes, and the canyon floor is mild but has short days.

Weather hazards

Extreme heat: Hike the inner canyon early or late in summer, carry plenty of water and salty snacks, and never try to hike to the river and back in one day.
Flash floods: Monsoon storms miles away can send torrents through side canyons, so avoid narrow drainages when storms threaten.
Lightning: Rim overlooks are exposed, so retreat to a vehicle or building when thunder is heard.
Icy trails: Winter and spring ice makes upper trail sections slick, so microspikes are strongly recommended.
Rapid weather changes: Rim temperatures can drop sharply with storms, so bring layers even in summer.

Grand Canyon Questions

When is the best time to visit the Grand Canyon?

Spring and fall offer the most comfortable weather for both rim viewing and inner canyon hiking. The North Rim is open only from mid-May through November, while the South Rim is open year-round and often dusted with snow in winter.

How hot does it get at the bottom of the Grand Canyon?

The canyon floor is typically 20 to 30°F warmer than the rims, so summer temperatures near the Colorado River often exceed 100°F. Rangers strongly advise against summer hiking to the river and back in a single day.

How old are the rocks in the Grand Canyon?

The rim-forming Kaibab Limestone is about 270 million years old, while the Vishnu Schist in the Inner Gorge is about 1.75 billion years old. Together the exposed layers span almost two billion years of Earth history.

How did the Grand Canyon form?

Uplift of the Colorado Plateau, which began about 75 million years ago, raised the land while the Colorado River cut down through it. The river's modern course took shape in roughly the last 6 million years, and wetter Ice Age climates accelerated the erosion.

Where can I see California condors?

Condors are often spotted soaring near the South Rim around Grand Canyon Village and at Navajo Bridge just outside the park. Look for their huge wingspan and numbered wing tags.

Does it snow at the Grand Canyon?

Yes. Both rims regularly receive winter snow, and the North Rim, at over 8,000 ft, gets so much that its road closes from December until mid-May.

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Sources: www.nps.gov · www.nps.gov · irmaservices.nps.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · Official NPS site