Loading Page...

What are the buildings at the bottom of the Grand Canyon?

(All are still in use today). Hopi House, Hermit's Rest, Lookout Studio, Phantom Ranch, Desert View Watchtower, Bright Angel Lodge, and the two Fred Harvey employee dormitories, Colter Hall and Victor Hall. (Now dormitories for Xanterra employees).



People Also Ask

Roughly 5.5 million tourists visit the Grand Canyon each year, but few realise that this vast abyss is home to a tiny village hidden 3,000ft in its depths: Supai, Arizona.

MORE DETAILS

One of the best-kept secrets of the Grand Canyon comes in the form of a gushing waterfall. Havasupai Falls has remained well-hidden thanks to the 10-mile hike it takes to reach its crystal blue waters. However, if you're ready to tackle that hike—and the 10 miles back—this destination spot won't disappoint.

MORE DETAILS

Nestled at the Bottom of Grand Canyon Phantom Ranch is the only lodging below the canyon rim, and can only be reached by mule, on foot, or by rafting the Colorado River.

MORE DETAILS

Carved by the Colorado River and other geological forces, it is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep. Nearly five million people visit the canyon annually, but as we later learned, only about one percent of them hike all the way to the bottom, as we planned to do.

MORE DETAILS

The mystery of the Great Unconformity What's tricky about the Grand Canyon is that the rocks in its walls seem to be missing a big part of the picture. In 1869, a man named John Wesley Powell observed that several layers of rock that should've been in the Canyon walls were not present.

MORE DETAILS

From the top of the Seven Devils Mountains to the deepest part of the Snake River, Hells Canyon is nearly 8,000 feet deep. That's almost 2,000 feet deeper than the famous Grand Canyon in Arizona.

MORE DETAILS

Staying Overnight Overnight hiker dormitories and cabins can be reserved and meals are available for purchase. Advance reservations for meals and lodging at Phantom Ranch are required. Reservations are made through Xanterra via an on-line lottery 15 months in advance.

MORE DETAILS

You can do it by foot, following the many inner-canyon trails including the popular Kaibab or Bright Angel trails from the South Rim (note that Kaibab has a North Rim trailhead as well). But never forget that while it's easy to make the descent, it's far, far more challenging to return to the rim.

MORE DETAILS

The historic Hopi House, located right on the rim of Grand Canyon, has been offering authentic American Indian arts and crafts for over 100 years and also carries many other items for sale. The structure was completed in 1905 and is a large, multi-story building of stone masonry.

MORE DETAILS

On the history of the Havasupai Tribe “We are the only Native American tribe that lives below the rim in the Grand Canyon. The Havasupai have been here since time immemorial. Traditionally, we had two areas where we lived. Where we live now in Supai village was our summer home.

MORE DETAILS

The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Tibet, a region of southwestern China, was formed over millions of years by the Yarlung Zangbo River. This canyon is the deepest in the world—at some points extending more than 5,300 meters (17,490 feet) from top to bottom.

MORE DETAILS

The name Hells Canyon is believed to come from the difficult and rugged journey through the terrain by boat. The first known reference to it as Hells Canyon is in the 1895 edition of H.W. McCurdy's “Marine History of the Pacific Northwest.”

MORE DETAILS

The oldest known rock in Grand Canyon, known as the Elves Chasm Gneiss, is located deep in the canyon's depths as part of the Vishnu Basement Rocks and clocks in at an ancient 1.84 billion years old.

MORE DETAILS

The composition (sandstone) and presence of stromatolites indicate that this area was previously a very shallow sea. The rock layers in the Grand Canyon Supergroup have been tilted, whereas the other rocks above this set are horizontal.

MORE DETAILS

in general, a trip to the river from the South Rim will take about 5 hours down, and about 15 hours back up. However, a descent from the North Rim will take close closer to 8 hours to the river, and may take 20+ hours back to the rim depending on fitness.

MORE DETAILS

Impress Your Friends With These Fun Facts!*
  • We don't really know how old it is. ...
  • Grand Canyon creates its own weather! ...
  • There are no dinosaur bones in the canyon. ...
  • But there are lots of other fossils in the area. ...
  • There's a town down in the canyon. ...
  • We're missing 950 million years worth of rocks!


MORE DETAILS