Grand Canyon National Park Fun Facts: Five Things You Didn't Know

It’s time for some Grand Canyon facts! President Woodrow Wilson designated Grand Canyon National Park in 1919, and in 1979, it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For thousands of years, humans have been drawn to its awe-inspiring beauty.

There is a reason the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks in the country. Whether you stop by the North Rim Visitor Center, peruse a gift shop, hike to Phantom Ranch, or make it all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, you are bound to be breathless by this one-of-a-kind national park.

Podcast Episode Overview

In this episode of Exploring the National Parks, we’re taking you along as we discuss some of the fascinating facts about the Grand Canyon!

Whether you have been to the park yet or not, our goal with this episode is to enrich your knowledge of the Grand Canyon.

Join us as we cover:

How the Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World
The universal wonder and awe of the Grand Canyon
The elevation changes in this park
The staircase of the Grand Canyon
The shocking age of the rocks in this park
The mystery at the Grand Canyon
Why this area is the Reader’s Digest of North America
The amazing animals you can see in this park
The tribes that have a history in this area
Early explorers

The human history of the Grand Canyon is ongoing. We are all part of this tradition of visiting it and standing in awe of this incredible place.

We hope this episode inspires you to get out to the Grand Canyon if you haven’t already and explore it for yourself. If you want a complete itinerary for your trip, head over to our Grand Canyon National Park trip itinerary!

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

Grand Canyon National Park Fun Facts

1. The Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world

Of course, Grand Canyon National Park makes the list of seven natural wonders of the world – it’s the Grand Canyon!

If you’ve had the chance to visit, you understand precisely how incredible this natural wonder is. It’s inspired over 200 movies and draws visitors from around the world. Just looking over the vast landscape from the rim of the canyon is breathtaking, but any exploration you can do adds to your experience.

This icon has spanned generations of visitors and will be around for many more to come. We love the Grand Canyon!

2. The Grand Canyon is deeper than the average elevation of all but three U.S. states

Let’s get into the science of Grand Canyon National Park!

The Grand Canyon’s deepest point is approximately 6,000 feet, making it deeper than the average elevation of nearly every state in the United States. The entire state of Rhode Island could fit within the Grand Canyon!

Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah are the only three states with average elevations higher than the Grand Canyon’s average depth.

The average elevation of the Grand Canyon is 4,000 feet deep. Most people haven’t experienced an elevation change as drastic as what you see at the Grand Canyon. We are used to seeing towering mountains, but looking down a mile-deep canyon is an entirely different experience. It’s almost like being on an alien planet!

In our Bryce Canyon fun facts episode, we discuss the Grand Staircase, which stretches from Bryce Canyon National Park to the Grand Canyon. This geologic feature contains more of Earth’s history than any other place on Earth.

The youngest rocks (270 million years old) are on top of the Grand Staircase at Bryce Canyon, and the oldest (1.8 billion years old) are on the bottom at the Grand Canyon. Across just 100 miles, you can see each of the geologic steps on the Colorado Plateau!

The canyon walls reveal the history of Earth, from the Vishnu Schist Basement Rocks to the surface Kaibab Formation. As you move toward the bottom of the canyon, you’ll notice the rocks running at a slant before reaching the Vishnu Basement Rocks. This section is known as the Great Unconformity, where about 1.2 billion years of geological history is missing.

Conspiracy theorists can put away their notebooks on this one. Scientists believe the Great Unconformity and similar geological mysteries can be explained by events like Snowball Earth, which eroded rock layers before new layers were deposited.

3. The Grand Canyon perfectly encapsulates North America’s geology and ecology

Because the Grand Canyon is so deep, it holds many of the geological features you could find spread out across the North American continent. Not only that, it has five of the seven ecological zones you can find in North America, as well as three of the four North American deserts. Talk about diversity!

The unique ecological conditions of Grand Canyon National Park mean some plant species can only survive within the park, otherwise known as endemic species. The federally listed endangered sentry milk-vetch (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax) is one example of an endemic species in the Grand Canyon.

Sentry milk-vetch can only grow in shallow soil pockets on cracks of Kaibab limestone within 25 feet of the Grand Canyon’s rim. This is a good reminder to always stay on the trail and respect plant life when visiting national parks!

4. Grand Canyon National Park is home to 447 species of birds, 91 species of mammals, 48 species of reptiles, 10 species of amphibians, and over 1,400 species of insects.

Because the Grand Canyon is 1,902 square miles and is home to five of North America’s ecological zones, it has some of the country’s most diverse wildlife.

Of the 447 species of birds found in the park, 355 are migratory. The Colorado River is a much-needed respite from their flight through deserts.

California condors can be found in the Grand Canyon and are hard to miss with their 9-foot wingspan. In 1982, there were only 22 California condors left. Today, their numbers are in the hundreds thanks to conservation efforts.

You can verify you’re seeing a California condor by identifying the number clipped to their wing.

The Grand Canyon is home to 22 different species of bats, among the country’s highest diversity. Some of the bats can eat 1,200 mosquitoes per hour!

Depending on your feelings about venomous animals, you might be excited to see a Gila monster next time you visit the Grand Canyon. Gila Monsters are one of two venomous lizards in the world, found at the far western desert edge of Grand Canyon National Park. Sticking to popular areas like the Bright Angel Trail or the South Kaibab Trail likely means you won’t have a run-in with a Gila monster.

But you might see tarantulas throughout the park! The largest tarantulas only get up to 4 inches and are ideal food for tarantula hawk wasps.

The Colorado River has five native species of fish – the humpback chub, the razorback sucker, the bluehead sucker, the flannelmouth sucker, and the speckled dace. Three fish species no longer live within the park boundaries because of the Glen Canyon Dam built in 1963.

Some species of mammals you might see in the Grand Canyon region are mountain lions, bighorn sheep, or the feared rock squirrel. Due to human feeding, rock squirrels have been known to bite humans, which is another good reminder to respect nature and keep your distance!

There are nine species of rattlesnake found in the Grand Canyon region. Like the rock squirrels, as long as you keep your distance, these rattlesnake species would be happy to leave you alone.

5. Humans have inhabited the Grand Canyon for 13,000 years

The first people to live in and around the Grand Canyon were the Paleo-Indians between 9-000 to 13,000 years ago. They hunted Ice Age animals like saber-toothed cats and wooly mammoths using spears with sharp tips.

Between 3,000 to 9,000 years ago, the Archaic people became the dominant population. Evidence of how they lived can be seen in the Grand Canyon museums, such as split-twig figurines they made in the image of the animals they hunted.

The Basketmakers lived between 1,300 to 3,000 years ago. They wove baskets and shoes from the fibers of yucca plants. The Basketmakers were among the first to farm in the Grand Canyon. They also hunted bighorn sheep and gathered pine nuts.

Perhaps the best-known people to live in the Grand Canyon were the Ancestral Puebloans, who lived 800 to 1,300 years ago. They built the stone houses you can still see today across the Southwest, including at Mesa Verde National Park.

Today, 11 Native American tribes have connections to Grand Canyon National Park and teach visitors about their culture and heritage – the Havasupai Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the Hualapai Tribe, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, the Navajo Nation, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, the Pueblo of Zuni, and the Yavapai-Apache Nation.

After years of trying to map the area, John Wesley Powell was one of the first explorers to reach the Grand Canyon. If you can believe it, he explored with wooden boats!

Which of these Grand Canyon facts is your favorite? We hope you visit the park soon to see how incredible the Grand Canyon is for yourself.

Are you ready to plan your dream trip to Grand Canyon? Check out this Grand Canyon Itinerary to ensure that you don’t miss out on anything!

Links mentioned in this episode:

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Grand Canyon National Park Fun Facts: Five Things You Didn’t Know