Grand Canyon National Park Established
Grand Canyon National Park, established on February 26, 1919, is a protected natural landmark located in northwest Arizona, encompassing over a million acres of stunning landscapes carved by the Colorado River over millions of years. This park attracts millions of visitors annually, drawn to its breathtaking vistas and geological significance. The history of human presence in the Grand Canyon area dates back thousands of years, with early hunter-gatherers arriving via the Bering Strait. The Anasazi people later established advanced agricultural communities known as pueblos, which thrived until around 1300 A.D.
The area underwent significant changes following European exploration in the 16th century, particularly during the Spanish colonization and subsequent U.S. acquisition after the Mexican War of 1848. Initially considered inhospitable terrain, the Grand Canyon gained attention during the late 19th century, leading to conservation efforts spearheaded by figures like President Theodore Roosevelt. His advocacy resulted in the designation of the canyon as a national monument before it was officially established as a national park. Furthermore, the park's boundaries were significantly expanded in 1975, enhancing protections for this iconic landscape. Today, the Grand Canyon National Park stands as a testament to the importance of preserving natural beauty and cultural heritage, inviting diverse perspectives and experiences for all who visit.
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Grand Canyon National Park Established
Grand Canyon National Park Established
On February 26, 1919, Congress acted to protect one of America's greatest natural landmarks by establishing the Grand Canyon National Park. This scenic treasure, carved out by the Colorado River over millions of years, cuts through northwest Arizona and covers over a million acres. Millions of tourists visit the site every year.
The first people to see the Grand Canyon were Stone Age hunter-gatherers who had crossed over into North America from Asia and were migrating southward. At the time, the eastern tip of Siberia and the western tip of Alaska were not separated by the Bering Strait, so the ancestors of today's Native Americans had come into the New World. Apparently bands of hunter-gatherers lived in the Grand Canyon vicinity for roughly ten thousand years.
Somewhere between 1000 B.C. and A.D. 1000, a more advanced, agricultural civilization arose, dominated by the Anasazi people. They built well-organized and prosperous communities called pueblos, and traded extensively with neighboring societies. By A.D. 1300, however, most of the Anasazi communities in the Grand Canyon region had been abandoned, for reasons that are unclear but which may relate to the limited water supply and the difficulty of supporting a large agricultural community in an arid terrain.
By the time of the Spanish arrival in the New World, the Navajo were the dominant Native American tribe in the Grand Canyon region, and their people have survived into modern times, now inhabiting a reservation located near the national park itself. In the 16th century, explorers under the leadership of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado became the first European to see the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon region became part of the territory of the Spanish empire in the New World, but outside of such settlements as Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Spanish took little interest in developing the region.
When the United States began to expand westward, American frontiersmen opened the Santa Fe Trail between American settlements in Missouri and the Spanish southwest. The land-hungry Americans forced Mexico, which inherited the area from Spain when Mexico gained its independence, to cede the modern-day southwestern region of the United States after the Mexican War of 1848. The Grand Canyon thus became the possession of the United States.
Until the Civil War, the Grand Canyon area was considered largely inhospitable, fit only for outlaws and renegade Native American tribes. In the late 19th century, however, the era of the “robber barons” began. The West was open to mining companies looking to exploit natural resources, and there were no restrictions on the methods used for extracting valuable metals from the land. Many Americans, including President Theodore Roosevelt, became increasingly concerned about the effects of unrestricted development and mining on the natural beauty of the rapidly diminishing frontier. After a visit to the Grand Canyon in 1903, Roosevelt saw to the passage of legislation that increased federal protection for the canyon and gave it the status of a national monument.
It was the act of February 26, 1919, that first made the Grand Canyon a national park. In 1975, federal protection was further expanded by the administration of President Gerald Ford, who acted to roughly double the size of the park. Today, the Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country.