Day 3b - Grand Canyon - Kaylee, Mel and Matt

Date: 2nd May 2011
Location: Grand Canyon (South Rim)
Time: 8:30am

Figure 1: A view from the top of the South Kaibab Trail looking deep into the Canyon

 The day started early again, we drove across Arizona to the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff. Along the way we passed through the Coconino National Forest, the San Francisco Volcanic Park and across the Coconino Plateau. Arriving at the Grand Canyon National Park entrance it became apparent that the park was designed for tourists. The car parks, the shuttle buses that transport visitors around the locations all show how the park has been opened up to tourism.

 Once parked, we took the short walk to the rim. The view can only be described as breathtaking, every way you look the colours of the canyon walls are stunning and the sheer expanse of the Canyon almost confuses you into thinking you are not actually seeing what is right in front of you.

 After the initial view the group spilt up into smaller groups and started the tasks of the day. Most started with the visitor centre, a facility designed to educate tourists on the canyons history. Inside a video called ‘A Journey of Wonder’ shows how the Grand Canyon was formed by the eroding power of the Colorado River and briefly explains the Stratigraphy of the Canyon. After the video, exploring the visitor itself showed how the park aims to educate. Various displays allow the tourists to see the differing layers of rock in a simplified manner. From scale models to helpful rangers the centres purpose seems to encourage the tourist to understand what they are actually seeing.

 Another message the park tries to get across is the need to use resources in a sustainable way. The shuttle buses that move people around the park all use natural gas, the visitor centre is powered by solar power, the toilets all use reclaimed water and there are various places around the rim offering Grand Canyon natural spring water to visitors for free. From the way in which the park advertises its sustainable methods it is clear they are proud of the reduced impact the park is having on the environment.

 The final part of the day most people used to hike into the Canyon itself. Many took the shuttle bus to the head of the South Kaibab trail and began to descend into the Canyon.

Figure 2: An account for the South Kaibab Trail, showing its elevations (left) and the stratigraphy of the Grand Canyon (right)

From above looking down the different stratigraphic layers the view is impressive but the descend through millons of years of geology is so abundantly clear. Starting off by walking through Kaibab Limestone and seeing it change through Toroweap Formation to Coconino Sandstone (as shown in the images above), knowing you have just past through millions of years of geological history is a humbling experience. Although the hike proved strenuous, the altitude and heat adding to the difficultly, the views as we descended made it worthwhile and most of us manage to hike down to at least Cedar Ridge travelling down an elevation of 1,140ft.

 Overall the Grand Canyon is what it is ‘Grand’, when you look at figure 3, you can see the shear scale of it. As previously stated, most of us made it down to around the Coconio sandstone, if you compare this in relation to where the river is, it is a small fraction of the Canyons history yet to us it felt like a life time hiking the trail. The whole experience is both humbling and educating at the same time. The way the park is managed from its accesable trails, excellent visitor centre and the way its striving to be sustainable enhanced the visit. For many on the trip the Grand Canyon was the thing they wanted to see, it didn’t disappoint.

                        Figure 3: An up close and easier to read stratigraphic diagram of the Grand Canyon


Diagrams Sourced off the Grand Canyon National Park Website and other educational Sites
http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/