The Grand Canyon National Park is a premium tourist destination that has been drawing people in for over a century. It’s estimated that around 5.9 million people visit the national park every year, which means it’s the second most popular national park, trailing behind the Great Smoky Mountains. As far as locations go, it’s one of the most recognizable destinations on the planet.

What is it about this place that brings in so many people to explore it? Part of it is the sheer size– the whole place is completely awe-inspiring. That aside, there is much to discover about the Grand Canyon, as there have only been so much time, access, and resources to find out all the secrets it holds. Many people place the Grand Canyon on their bucket lists because it’s such a unique find. There are so many amazing things about the Grand Canyon; it’s no wonder that some of them defy logic and sometimes scientific explanations. Geologists, nature enthusiasts, and scientists are all keen to unlock the secrets within the borders of this wonder of the world.

Here are 27 amazing things about the Grand Canyon that will help fuel wanderlust and get it to the top of many ‘must visit’ locations in America.

UPDATE: 2023/02/06 13:09 EST BY AARON SPRAY

More Of The Most Amazing Things About The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is easily one of the most stunning, dramatic, and famous landmarks in the world. The size and scope of the canyon are without equal. But there are still many things yet to be understood about the canyon, and it continues to hold many secrets. This article was updated and expanded with more of the most amazing things about the Grand Canyon.

27 A Gateway To The Afterlife?

No matter what you believe in when a place is sacred to a culture, there’s no doubt that a sort of magical energy exists that is worthy of exploring and paying respect to. Such is the case for the spiritual significance Native tribes have placed on the canyon, seeing it as a ‘place of emergence’, where many are said to set sail through the Colorado rivers inside the canyon as a part of their journey from this human life towards their next afterlife destination.

26 The Canyon Is Its Own Mother Nature

When visiting The Grand Canyon, it can be essential to make sure you’re wearing layers since temperatures vary dramatically based on location and elevation. Elevation in the canyon ranges from 2,000 feet to over 8,000, meaning the temperature rises around 5.5 degrees with each 1,000 feet loss in elevation. From the top of the canyon to the very bottom, the temperature changes by over 25 degrees.

The base of the gorge is scorching hot in the summer, and the rim at the top is icy cold in the winter months. The coldest, soggiest weather in the canyon is at the Bright Angel Ranger Station, and the hottest and driest is only eight miles away at Phantom Ranch.

25 Cleanest Air In The US

While nearby California houses eight of the ten most polluted cities in the United States, the Grand Canyon has clear air worthy of your vacation. A report from the American Lung Association revealed that in America, more than four in 10 live in areas with unhealthy amounts of lung pollution, so perhaps it’s time to visit somewhere with better air quality.

With an elevation on the South Rim of nearly 7,000 feet above sea level, travelers and locals can experience some of the cleanest air in the country while visiting the Grand Canyon, so enjoy some of the restorative benefits that a trip to the canyon has while you’re there.

24 Age Unknown

There is a great deal of debate as to exactly how old The Grand Canyon is. For a long time, it was believed that the Colorado River first began carved it out six million years ago. A 2012 study revealed a big change in this theory, showing evidence suggesting the canyon began to form some 70 million years ago with rocks dating back billions of years ago. It was once thought to be several smaller canyons that slowly began to take shape together.

There are a lot of rocks that need to be examined in order to determine for sure what and when the canyon first came to be.

23 No Jurassic Roots Here

You’d think that something as old as the Grand Canyon would hold interesting and exciting dinosaur fossils, but it doesn’t. The rocks found making up the walls of the canyon were formed long before dinosaurs ever roamed the earth, around a billion years older. There are still many fossils, some marine animals even dating back 1.2 billion years, as well as some more recent land mammals that have been discovered, who were living in the canyon as recently as 10,000 years ago.

22 The Mystery Of The Cursed Relics

We all know the adage when visiting historic places, or anywhere natural of ‘don’t leave more than footsteps, don’t take more than photos.’ It’s said that those who have taken what doesn’t belong to them at The Grand Canyon are haunted by what they have stolen from the land.

Park Rangers have reported receiving letters and the return of things that tourists have taken with an explanation that they had experienced extreme bad luck and illness since removing these items from the park, where they belong.

21 Fire At The Canyon Is A Good Thing

When we think about fire, especially in modern times, seeing the way it can ravage our land, it’s hard to imagine fire being a good thing for a natural space such as The Grand Canyon. Fire has been a productive part of the Colorado Plateau’s ecosystem for thousands of years now, with man using ‘controlled fire’ in the canyon for some time. These fires naturally thin the forest, bring nutrients into the soil, and create new plant growth. Fire managers hired by the park work hard to balance the need for fire, all while protecting human and animal life, as well as the park property.

20 Secret Caves

It’s estimated that there are more than 1,000 caves inside the Grand Canyon, with only 335 documented and even fewer mapped, explored, or inventoried. Today only one cave is open for visitors to explore, and it’s called- the Cave of the Domes on Horseshoe Mesa. Those who want to feel like they’re living in a cave can book The Cavern Suite, located on a wooden platform in the cave’s largest ‘room.’

After 6:30 pm (when the park has closed), guests can enjoy the two queen beds and 70-foot-high vaulted ceiling while they have the cave all to themselves. The cost to stay there is $800 per night and includes a suite attendant located not far from the elevator to deliver food and help get you anything you need while enjoying cave life.

19 Fake Stories Of The 1900's

Fake news isn’t just something from the modern day; it also existed in the heyday of newspaper reporting with a prominent fake news story targeting The Grand Canyon. Paper The Arizona Gazette falsely reported a story stating that archaeologists had made an incredible discovery.

The paper said that there were traces of an ancient Tibetan or Egyptian civilization located in an underground tunnel within the canyon. The Smithsonian denied any truth to this story, although some believe whatever was found in the tunnels, Egyptian, Tibetan, or not, was hidden in a cover-up.

18 Unusual Dangerous Animals In The Canyon

In a park filled with snakes, big horned sheep, or even the venomous Gila monster, it’s hard to believe that you’re most likely to experience trouble from a cute little rock squirrel. Every year at the canyon, dozens of tourists get bitten by these squirrels when they try to feed them (despite there being warnings everywhere not to feed these critters).

It’s best practice not to approach any animal you encounter in the Canyon no matter how cute it is as even just a bite can hurt, lead to infection, or carry diseases.

17 A Wonder Of The World

There are different types of wonders in the world. Aside from man-made masterpieces, there are natural wonders of the world, which are named for their awe-inspiring, astonishing natural attractions. The Grand Canyon holds the honor of a position on this list alongside: Paricutin in Mexico, the Northern Lights, Victoria Falls, the Great Barrier Reef, The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, and Mount Everest.

People add seeing these amazing places to their lifetime bucket lists all the time, and no one regrets seeing these natural beauties.

16 Small Town Inside The Canyon

The Supai Village is a small community located at the base of the canyon that most people don’t even know exists. With a population of only 208 people, it is the most remote place in the lower 48 states, a true place of solitary existence. People who live in the Havasupai Indian Reservation are located somewhere so remote that they are the only community in the entirety of the United States that receives their mail delivery via a pack mule.

The community is situated eight miles away from the nearest road, with no cars in the community.

15 Beware Of Pink Snakes

Animals will do what they need to on an evolutionary scale to survive within their habitat. There are six rattlesnake species that live within the Grand Canyon Park’s boundaries, but the lesser seen and most interesting one is the Pink Rattlesnake, whose light pink color camouflages it beautifully while it sits among the pink rocks of the canyon. Although these snakes are venomous, they are not aggressive and rely on their coloring (that matches their surroundings) to protect them.

They will only attack when they feel threatened. Keep an extra eye open for them as they work hard to make sure that visitors miss them.

14 The Road Trip Between Rims

When people say they are going to visit The Grand Canyon, many think that they are going to be able to explore it all in just a day, when in fact, the Canyon is harder to navigate than that. While the South and North Rim are only 10 miles apart in the distance as a bird flies, it’s much more time-consuming to get from one part of the canyon to the other.

The drive between the North and the South is about five hours, or 215 miles long, so planning at least two days at the park is probably for the best.

13 Ever Evolving Shape

The Colorado River is responsible for the forming of the Grand Canyon and continues to shape what future generations will see here for centuries to come. While it’s too slow for the naked eye to see, the Grand Canyon is constantly changing shape thanks to the river, wind, rain, and other environmental factors it is exposed to.

The Grand Canyon itself is so large and varied that those visiting can see completely different ecosystems existing at the same time within the confines of the canyon.

12 Not The Best Fishing Hole

Since The Grand Canyon is such a force of nature, you’d think there would be primo fishing for outdoor adventurers. The fact is, until recently, with the implementation of manmade flood control measures, the Colorado River was a challenging habitat for fish, so there weren’t many living there.

Thanks to frequent flooding, profound temperature changes from broiling heat in the summer and icy cold in the winter, waters with a lot of debris, and more, there are only eight types of fish species native to the area, with six of these eight found only in the depths of the Colorado River. So, if you try to fish, odds are you’ll catch something that you’ve never run into before and probably won’t ever again.

11 Protection From Teddy Roosevelt

Before it was explored in 1869, the Grand Canyon had other names. People simply called it the Great Canyon and sometimes just the Big Canyon. It wasn’t until the Grand Canyon was explored, named, and protected by Teddy Roosevelt that it became the huge tourist attraction that we know it to be today.

When Roosevelt signed a bill declaring the area a national monument, he famously said, “Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.”

10 Not The Biggest, Internationally Or Domestically

While many of us marvel at the Grand Canyon for its size, considering it’s larger than the entire state of Rhode Island, it isn’t the biggest in the world or even the United States of America. Bigger canyons in the world are the Kali Gandaki Gorge, located in Nepal, and the Cotahuasi Canyon in Peru. The Tibetan canyon is a full two miles deeper and 30 miles longer than The Grand Canyon. Hells Canyon holds the honor of being the deepest canyon in the USA, not The Grand Canyon.

9 Only Recently Explored

With only 150 years of exploration into the Grand Canyon, there is still so much to discover. While it is one of the most sought-after landscapes for geological study in the entire world, we are just beginning to tap the surface of the wonders found within the Grand Canyon.

As geologists work hard to document the fossil records and rocks within the rich archeological history of the canyon, there is still much work and discovery to be done. Only time will tell what secrets are held within the caves and walls of the Canyon.

8 The Earliest Days Of Instant Photos

Photo tourism has changed a lot over the years. In a world of instant sharing, people can take photos atop or within the Grand Canyon and post them live to all of their social media accounts.

The Grand Canyon was home to some of the very first photo tourism entrepreneurs. The Kolb brothers were among the first to make a living photographing tourists as they set off on mules to explore the canyon. When visitors returned, they sold them the photos for a profit. The original Kolb studio is still located in Grand Canyon Village.

Related: North Rim Vs. South Rim Grand Canyon: Which Is Better To Visit?