History

The geologic history of the Grand Canyon is visible in its rock layers .

The human history at Grand Canyon is summarized by the following list

• 10,000 years ago : Paleoindians at Grand Canyon

• 3-4,000 years ago : Desert Culture at the Canyon

• 900 years ago : Prehistoric Pueblo Peoples (Anasazi) in the Canyon

• 1540 : First Europeans (Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas) visit Canyon with Hopi guides

• 1826 : James Ohio Pattie, first American visits Canyon

• 1869 : Major John Wesley Powell leads first successful expedition down the Colorado River

• 1871 : First photographs of Grand Canyon by Timothy O'Sullivan

• 1882 : Senator Benjamin Harrison introduces first bill to create Grand Canyon National Park

• 1883 : Harrison introduces legislation again

• 1883 : John Hance, first Grand Canyon settler, arrives

• 1886 : Again, Harrison unsuccessfully tries to create a national park

• 1893 : Now President Harrison creates Grand Canyon Forest Reserve

• 1901 : Train service to Grand Canyon begins

• 1902 : The first auto, a Toledo Eight Horse, arrives at Grand Canyon

• 1902 : Ellsworth and Emery Kolb establish their photography business at the Canyon

• 1903 : President Theodore Roosevelt visits the Grand Canyon

• 1905 : The El Tovar Hotel opens for business

• 1906 : President Teddy Roosevelt creates Grand Canyon Game Preserve

• 1908 : President Teddy Roosevelt creates Grand Canyon National Monument

• 1910/11 : Senate Bills are introduced and fail to create a national park

• 1912 : Arizona receives statehood

• 1915 : Annual visitation to the Canyon reaches 106,000

• 1916 : National Park Service created

• 1917 : House and Senate Bills are introduced to create a national park

• 1918 : Both bills pass

• 1919 : President Woodrow Wilson signs the Grand Canyon Park bill, February 26th

• 1919 : The National Park Services assumes control of the park

• 1919 : Annual visitation to the park drops to 44,000 due to World War I

• 1920 : Official dedication ceremonies occur at the Canyon, April 30th - May 2nd

• 1928 : The Kaibab suspension bridge is constructed across the Colorado River

• 1932 : Grand Canyon National Monument in the western Grand Canyon is created

• 1956 : Annual visitation exceeds 1,000,000

• 1956 : Construction of Glen Canyon Dam is authorized

• 1963 : Gates of Glen Canyon Dam close, the Colorado River ceases to be a wild river through Grand Canyon

• 1966 : Crystal Rapid, one of the canyon's toughest, is created by a flash flood down Crystal Creek drainage

• 1969 : Annual visitation exceed 2,000,000

• 1969 : Marble Canyon National Monument created

• 1975 : President Ford signs Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act, Grand Canyon and Marble Canyon National Monuments are absorbed into the park

• 1976 : Annual visitation exceeds 3,000,000

• 1986 : Mid-air collision between sightseeing helicopter and small plane killing all passengers

• 1989 : Operators of Glen Canyon Dam are instructed to assess dam operations and ways to minimize impacts to the Grand Canyon

• 1991 : National Park Service begins drafting a new general management plan to guide future administration of the park

• 1991 : President George Bush visits Grand Canyon to witness the signing of a landmark agreement to minimize air pollution coming from Navajo Generating Station

• 1992 : Annual visitation exceeds 4,000,000

• 1993 : Annual visitation misses 5 million by only 70,000

• 1994 : Grand Canyon National Park pages go up on World Wide Web :-)