Introduction
The Grand Canyon is one of the world's great natural wonders, an instantly recognizable symbol of the Southwest. Slicing through Grand Canyon National Park for 217 miles, it is four to 18 miles wide and more than 5,000ft deep. Formed over a period of six million years by the Colorado River cutting through the Colorado Plateau, the erosion has exposed vast cliffs of rock of varied colour and type, from limestone to sandstone and shale.
The most spectacular aspect of the canyon is the ever-changing patterns cast by light and the colours of the rock. Grandview Point is the one of highest places on the South Rim, while Havusu Canyon is home to a population of 500 Indians living on the Havasupai Reservation. The less accessible North Rim gets about a tenth of the visitors of the South Rim, its main sites Yavapai Point and Bright Angel Trail.
