Grand Canyon

First Sightings

The first recorded sighting of the Grand Canyon by a European was when García López de Cárdenas went through it in 1540, although Native Americans lived there for many centuries beforehand, with settlements still visible within the walls of the canyon. It is probably for this reason that the Hopi guides leading the Spaniards did not show them how to enter the canyon itself. Remains from the prehistoric period and early artifacts have been located there. The next European visitors were two Spanish priests and some Spanish soldiers who were exploring the area around southern Utah.

The next reported sighting of the Grand Canyon was when James Ohio Pattie and some trappers reached the area in 1826. The next verified visitor was Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon missionary who was sent by Brigham Young in the 1850s to establish the location for a river crossing in the Canyon; he mapped Lee's Ferry and Pierce Ferry in 1858. Other parties of U.S. government surveyors, explorers, [Page 804]and mineral prospectors followed. These included the John Wesley Powell River Expeditions and the Brown-Stanton River Expedition. The former involved extensive mapping of the Grand Canyon, with information being published on its botany, ethnology, geography, and geology. Theodore Roosevelt visited it on many occasions and urged for its inclusion in a national park. The Grand Canyon National Park was established in 1919, covering 1,904 square miles (4,931 square kilometers). The park was enlarged in 1975 to include the Grand Canyon National Monument, the Marble Canyon National Monument, and other nearby protected areas. Four years later the park was designated as a World Heritage site, and is now connected by a 215mile (346 kilometer) paved road and a transcanyon trail stretching 21 miles (34 kilometers). There are still five Native American tribes living nearby.

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