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Grand Canyon

© Patrice Bentham

Are you planning to visit the Grand Canyon this summer? How about learning something about it before you go? Even if you are not going to the Canyon, come along anyway :).

Start the tour with Grand Canyon Explorer, http://www.kaibab.org/grand.htm . First, pick the way you want to view the web site (with frames or without, the resolution and with or without Java). Nice to have a choice. Where to start? This is a pretty comprehensive site about the Canyon. You can begin with the main menu and work your way through. Or you can start with the glossary, http://www.kaibab.org/gc/misc/gc_misc.ht... , and visit what interests you. To begin with I wanted to see a map of the Canyon. I like to get orientated. I also think it helps with the understanding of the material as you read through it if you can flip back and look at a map. The glossary provides a link to the map page, http://www.kaibab.org/gc/maps/gc_maps.htm . Now having sorted that out, let's move on to general information. What are the Canyon's vital statistics-how big, how wide and how deep? All found here. There is an excellent section on the geology of the Canyon. Various rock layers are visible in the Canyon. All the layers are named with a short commentary about each. If you are going to the Grand Canyon, learning about the rock layers before you go will make your trip more interesting. Amaze your friends...." The names of the layers, starting from the top down, are....:)" Who says you shouldn't learn something when you go on vacation? There's a wonderful section detailing how the Canyon was formed, http://www.kaibab.org/gc/geology/gc_geol... . Being knowledgeable about the place you are going to visit will only make it more enjoyable. As you read along, many terms and locations are links. You can click on the link to learn more. There is plenty of information about how to get to the Canyon, what there is to do once you get there, trails that you can hike along and safely considerations. Phew! What a wealth of information.

But wait! There are others. Natural History of Northern Arizona, Grand Canyon Geology, http://edu-source.com/GCpages/CVOpage1.h... is certainly worth a visit. This site focuses primarily on the geology of the Canyon starting with a map to get you situated. Here you will learn again about the various rock layers and landforms. There is a short discussion about the climate of Northern Arizona and how it factored into the erosion process. Did you know that there are no dinosaur fossils in the Canyon? The site finishes up with a short discussion of the ancient environments that created the rock layers.

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