It's a Grand Old Canyon - It Happened Today

It's a Grand Old Canyon

January 11, 1908 - Roosevelt Declares the Grand Canyon a National Monument

The Grand Canyon is one of America's most awe-inspiring natural wonders, so majestic that it ranks among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The Grand Canyon is known for its overwhelming size and colorful landscape. The Grand Canyon is geologically significant because of the sequence of ancient rocks that are beautifully preserved and exposed in the walls of the canyon. These rock layers record much of the early geological history of the North American continent.

In 1540, Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas of Spain became the first European to behold the more than a mile (1.6km) deep and 4 to 18 miles wide canyon. However, because the area was so dangerous to navigate, few explored the canyon until American fascination with the western wildernesses began to blossom during the latter part of the nineteenth century. In 1869 John Wesley Powell made the first recorded "voyage" through the canyon on the Colorado River in small wooden boats.

On this day in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the increasingly popular southwestern landmark a National Monument. The Grand Canyon would later be added to the growing list of U.S. National Parks in 1919. Last year a new observation platform opened. It is cantilevered over the rim of the canyon allowing visitors to walk out over the canyon edge.