There are canyons all over the planet, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona is not the biggest. Yet because of the spectacular colors in the rock layers and fascinating formations of boulders, buttes, and mesas, it is known as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Starting with a brief overview of how national parks came into being, this book covers all aspects of the canyon--how it formed, which early native people lived there, and what varied wildlife can be found there now. A history of the canyon's end-to-end exploration in the late 1860s and how the Grand Canyon became such a popular vacation spot (5 million tourists visit every year) round out this informative, easy-to-read account.

The majesty of the Grand Canyon is celebrated from the Colorado River as it continues to carve America's natural wonder from a mile below the rim. As one of the Wonders of the World and the most iconic national park in America, the Grand Canyon enthralls six million visitors each year. Only a small fraction of those people, however, have the privilege of experiencing the canyon by rafting down the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon captures and evokes the power of that journey from the drama of the rapids and the immeasurable scale of the canyon walls to the subtle rock patterns and varied life forms. What started as an exceptional opportunity for Tom Blagden to raft through The Canyon in 2006 with Rod Nash at the oars has evolved into a passionate photographic pursuit that still continues. The route--the River--is the same every time but the experience constantly variable and deeply profound. Rafters never tire of it and, if anything, feel more in awe of the Canyon's magnificence with each trip. Tom Blagden's images and Rod Nash's essay reveal the canyon from a different perspective portraying what it's like to be on the river and immersed a mile deep, surrounded by rock almost half the age of the earth. On the centennial of Grand Canyon National Park it seems only fitting that we journey together to this unique place through the pages of this astonishing book. The book weaves a wondrous adventure that will bring readers along on a journey while raising questions about the significance of a national park and an iconic American river and how to sustain them for generations to follow.

I Am the Grand Canyon is the story of the Havasupai people. From their origins among the first group of Indians to arrive in North America some 20,000 years ago to their epic struggle to regain traditional lands taken from them in the nineteenth century, the Havasupai have a long and colorful history. The story of this tiny tribe once confined to a toosmall reservation depicts a people with deep cultural ties to the land, both on their former reservation below the rim of the Grand Canyon and on the surrounding plateaus. In the spring of 1971, the federal government proposed incorporating still more Havasupai land into Grand Canyon National Park. At hearings that spring, Havasupai Tribal Chairman Lee Marshall rose to speak. "I heard all you people talking about the Grand Canyon," he said. "Well, you're looking at it. I am the Grand Canyon!" Marshall made it clear that Havasu Canyon and the surrounding plateau were critical to the survival of his people; his speech laid the foundation for the return of thousands of acres of Havasupai land in 1975. I Am the Grand Canyon is the story of a heroic people who refused to back down when facing overwhelming odds. They won, and today the Havasupai way of life quietly continues in the Grand Canyon and on the surrounding plateaus.

Rivers wind through earth, cutting down and eroding the soil for millions of years, creating a cavity in the ground 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and more than a mile deep known as the Grand Canyon. Home to an astonishing variety of plants and animals that have lived and evolved within its walls for millennia, the Grand Canyon is much more than just a hole in the ground. Follow a father and daughter as they make their way through the cavernous wonder, discovering life both present and past. Weave in and out of time as perfectly placed die cuts show you that a fossil today was a creature much long ago, perhaps in a completely different environment. Complete with a spectacular double gatefold, an intricate map and extensive back matter.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience--an end-to-end, rim-to-river exploration of the Grand Canyon. The authors have debuted a film-Into the Canyon-in February of 2019 that explores their hike through the canyon Award-winning photographer Pete McBride, along with best-selling authors Kevin Fedarko and Hampton Sides, takes us on a gripping adventure story told through stunning, never-before-seen photography and powerful essays. By hiking the entire 750 miles of Grand Canyon National Park--from the Colorado River to the canyon rim--McBride captures the majesty of as well as calling us to protect America's open-aired cathedral. The 2019 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Book of the Year, this is the most spectacular collection of Grand Canyon imagery ever seen, showing beauty from vantages where no other photographers have ever stood. It will also highlight the conservation challenges this iconic national park faces as visitation numbers grow and development pressures surrounding it mount. This photography will inspire and remind us why we protect such a cherished public space. Proceeds benefit the Grand Canyon Conservancy, and the accompanying documentary Into the Canyon has been shown at the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival and the Aspen Film Festival in February of 2019 as well as debuting on the National Geographic Channel--all in time for the national park's centennial.

Photographs made in Grand Canyon a century ago may provide us today with a sense of history; photographs made a century later from the same vantage points give us a more precise picture of change in this seemingly timeless place. Between 1889 and 1890, Robert Brewster Stanton made photographs every 1-2 miles through the river corridor for the purpose of planning a water-level railroad route and produced the largest collection of photographs of the Colorado River at one point in time. Robert Webb, a USGS hydrologist conducting research on debris flows in the Canyon, obtained the photographs and from 1989 to 1995 replicated all 445 of the views captured by Stanton, matching as closely as possible the original camera positions and lighting conditions. Grand Canyon, a Century of Change assembles the most dramatic of these paired photographs to demonstrate both the persistence of nature and the presence of humanity. Unexpected longevity of some plant species, effects of animal grazing, and expansion of cacti are all captured by the replicate photographs. More telling is evidence of the impact of Glen Canyon Dam: increased riparian vegetation, new marshes, aggraded debris fans, and eroded sand bars. In the accompanying text, Webb provides a thorough analysis of what each pair of photographs shows and places the project in its historical context. Complementing his narrative are six sidebar articles by authorities on Canyon natural history that further attest to a century of change. The level of detail obtained from the photographs represents one of the most extensive long-term monitoring efforts ever conducted in a national park; it is the most detailed documentation effort ever performed using repeat photography. Much more than simply a picture book, Grand Canyon, a Century of Change is an environmental history of the river corridor, a fascinating book that clearly shows the impact of human influence on Grand Canyon and warns us that its future is very much in our hands.

Arizona is proud to have one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World--the Grand Canyon. With the arrival of the Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroad in the early 20th century, the development of the canyon began in earnest. The railroads, along with the Santa Fe's business partner, the Fred Harvey Company, greatly promoted the Grand Canyon as a tourist destination through books, pamphlets, and magazine advertisements. On February 26, 1919, Congress established the Grand Canyon National Park, and the federal government became a promoter of the Grand Canyon, too. But perhaps the best promoters of the Grand Canyon were the people who wrote home on picture postcards telling their friends and families about the amazing canyon. A number of the postcards published about the park can be found within the pages of this book.