Welcome to the Grand Canyon in Northwest Arizona. You're starting at its eastern mouth: Lee's Ferry, where the Paria River joins the Colorado, and the easy water makes it a good crossing place. Head west, up onto the north rim of the canyon.

Onto the North Rim

Welcome to the Grand Canyon

You're at Marion Point on the north rim, 1.6 kilometres above the Colorado River. The north rim is 305m higher than the south rim, and gets snow in winter. At its widest, the Grand Canyon is 29km across. This is the start of the Canyon's most difficult hike; the Nankoweap Trail.

First There's History

Marion Point

You've reached the end of the 18km Nankoweap Trail. Imagine yourself 900 years ago, and you can see doors cut into the walls of the canyon. These are the granaries of the Pueblo people, and there are even older Native American buildings, like the Tusayan ruins on the south rim. The Puebloan people were living in the Grand Canyon since at least 1200 BCE, and Native American people have lived in and around the Grand Canyon continuously since this time.  They're at the forefront of the conservation fight for the Grand Canyon.

The Colorado River Itself

Back 900 Years

You've reached the bottom of the Canyon. Cross the river and head up the south canyon wall. The oldest rocks in the canyon are 2 billion year-old Vishnu Schist with an unconformity between the schist and the rocks sitting on top of it. A schist is a metamorphic rock and has been altered by heat and pressure. An unconformity means there is a gap of time where no new rocks formed. Here, that is a period of 500 million years. Other than the Vishnu Schist, the rocks are sedimentary, mostly shoreline or marine in origin, meaning that there was a sea here for extended periods of time.

Top of the South Rim

The Bottom of the Canyon

You've reached the top of the south rim, near Lipan Point. The easiest rim-to-rim hike is on the South Kaibab Trail, but even that is a difficult 34km hike. The other option to travel from one rim to the other, is a 354km drive that uses one of the bridges which span the canyon. The south rim is more popular and has the historic Visitor's Centre. It also doesn't get as much snow so can be open to visitors year round.

Open to Tourists

Near Lipan Point

You're now running around Moran Point, in the year 1540 CE. In the distance you can see a small group of Spanish soldiers and their Hopi guides. These were the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon. They're trying to climb down the canyon to get water but it's too steep, and their guides don't feel like telling them the easy way down. In 1848, the Grand Canyon officially became part of the United States with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, but no-one consulted with the Native Americans about this. 

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

A More Specific Time

You're near Hopi Point on the south rim, and the year is now 1891 CE. 300m below is the "Orphan Mine" built to exploit silver and copper deposits. 55 years years later the mine was discovered to be rich in Uranium. There are many uranium mines within 5 miles of the Grand Canyon, despite a recent moratorium. Uranium mining has poisoned much of the water used by the nearby Navajo Nation. Navajo researcher Maria Welch found high levels of uranium contamination in her people, linked to high levels of cancer and kidney failure. The Grand Canyon is a unique place and any threat to its ecological balance is worrying.

A Unique Place

Near Hopi Point

You're heading west from Hopi Point. If you look up you can see the largest bird in North America; the California Condor, which has a wingspan of nearly 3m. In 1987 there were only 9 of these birds left in the wild. They were taken into captivity for a breeding program which brought them back from the brink of extinction. The Grand Canyon has a lot of biodiversity with a delicate balance, and several species that are found nowhere else. So much diversity makes this a place that is worth protecting.

Protect the Canyon

The California Condor

You've passed Mohave Point, and now we're going down 1.6km to the Colorado River. The river floods from snowmelt in spring, and varies in temperature from around freezing to very warm in summer. The fish that live here need to be hardy. There are five species of fish native to the Grand Canyon, but there used to be more. Three species became extinct as recently as the 1960s because humans introduced non-native fish and build dams along the river. There are two nearby dams: the Glen Canyon dam, and the Hoover Dam, which both change how the river flows.

About to Get Wild!

Passed Mohave Point

We've reached the rapids! There are many rapids along the Canyon's length, but Lava Falls is the most difficult. See the elderly woman on one of the bright orange rafts? It's 1989, and that's Georgie White-Clark. She was the first woman to swim part of the Colorado river, 91km through the western part of the canyon and out to Lake Mead. After she died, the rapid at mile 24 was named after her.

Almost to the End

Reached the Rapids

You've reached the Grand Wash Cliffs, the official end of the Grand Canyon. This is where the Colorado River runs into Lake Mead, which was artificially crated with the construction of the Hoover Dam. You've finished running the Grand Canyon. You've earned a break!

Stop Running Now

Distant Red and Grey Cliffs

Travel the full 446-kilometre length of the Grand Canyon in a 5K walk, jog, or run. You'll journey through its fascinating cultural history, right up to the present day where its ecological legacy is being left behind.

Run the Grand Canyon: 5K

You're at Marion Point on the north rim, 1.6 kilometres above the Colorado River. The north rim is 305m higher than the sourth rim, and gets snow in winter. At its widest, the Grand Canyon is 29km across. This is the start of the Canyon's most difficult hike; the Nankoweap Trail.

You've reached the bottom of the Canyon. Cross the river and head up the south canyon wall. The oldest rocks in the canyon are 2 billion year-old Vishnu Schist with an unconformity between the schist and the rocks sitting on top of it. A schist is a metamorphic rock and has been altered by heat and pressure. An unconformity means there is a gap of time where no new rocks formed. Here, that's a period of 500 million years. Other than the Vishnu Schist, the rocks are sedimentary, mostly shoreline or marine in origin, meaning that there was a sea here for extended periods of time. There are also formations made of lithified sand dunes, showing that there was a desert here too. 

You're now running around Moran Point, in the year 1540 CE. In the distance you can see a small group of Spanish soldiers and their Hopi guides. These were the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon. They're trying to climb down the canyon to get water but it's too steep, and their guides don't feel like telling them the easy way down. The first American to see the Grand Canyon was James Ohio Pattie in 1826 looking for beavers. He kept a diary which he eventually used to write a book about his adventures, although many of them seem downright fictional. In 1848, the Grand Canyon officially became part of the United States with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, but no-one consulted with the Native Americans about this. 

You're heading west from Hopi Point. If you look up you can see the largest bird in North America; the California Condor, which has a wingspan of nearly 3m. In 1987 there were only nine of these birds left in the wild. They were taken into captivity for a breeding program which brought them back from the brink of extinction. The Grand Canyon has a lot of biodiversity with a delicate balance, and several species that are found nowhere else. So much diversity makes this a place that's worth protecting.

We're at Crystal Rapid, one of the most difficult rapids and the first of the rapids known as "gems". The rapids can change from season to season as rocks and bars are rearranged. Crystal Rapid formed in 1966 when a flash flood brought boulders from Crystal Canyon into the river. Traversing the entire canyon by boat takes more than a week, and requires a knowledgable guide. A few people die every year in the Grand Canyon from losing control of their rafts. 

Modern Legend

We've arrived at Lava Falls! There are many rapids along the Canyon's length, but Lava Falls is the most difficult. See the elderly woman on one of the bright orange rafts? It's 1989, and that's Georgie White-Clark. She was the first woman to swim part of the Colorado river, 91km through the western part of the canyon and out to Lake Mead. After she died, the rapid at mile 24 was named after her.

Lava Falls Rapid

Travel the full 446-kilometre length of the Grand Canyon in a 10K walk, jog, or run. You'll journey through its fascinating cultural history, right up to the present day where its ecological legacy is being left behind.

Run the Grand Canyon: 10K

Welcome to the Cretaceous Interior Seaway, 80 million years ago, in what will become Colorado. This inland sea is 3,200km long and 970km wide, and can be up to 760m deep. Herds of duck-billed hadrosaurs live along the shoreline.

Enjoy the View

Greatest Geological Landmark

You're running west, and that rumble you feel is mountains being formed. Far to the west is a subduction zone, where an oceanic tectonic plate is being ground beneath a continental plate. But this oceanic plate is very bouyant, and is scraping against the continental plate, compressing and rumpling it to form mountain ranges. This is why western North America is so mountainous. If you look behind you, more mountains are closing off the seaway and tilting it up, and the water is draining away. 

Into the Rocky Mountains

Millions of Years Passing

You've reached 2k and run through nearly 40 million years of time. You're at the top of the newly formed Rocky mountains. They're hidden underneath older rock at first, but are slowly exposed as the older rock erodes. You follow a stream of water as it joins up with other streams to become the Colorado River. The Colorado Plateau that it runs through is still gaining elevation quickly, so the water cuts down through the rock instead of spreading outwards.

Higher and Higher

Completed 2 Kilometers

You're run 3k and covered another 20 million years. The crust here is under tension, being pulled apart. This creates large cracks, and eventually forms parallel mountain ranges with deep basins between them. The Colorado River cuts through these basins and ranges. Small volcanoes dot the area where the crust is thin enough for magma to break through.

A Little Faster

Another 20 Million Years

You've finished 4k and run forward another 13 million years. Far to the west, a process called 'rifting' has created the Gulf of California. This has made the sea level even lower so the Colorado River is cutting down even more. All rivers want to go down to sea level. You've moved into the Pleistocene ice age which is much cooler and wetter, and has added even more water to the Colorado River. More water means the river has cut the canyon wider and deeper.

Just a Bit Further

Far to the West

You've reached 5k and are now at the mouth of the Grand Canyon in the modern day! What you see in the canyon is nearly two billion years of exposed Earth history. But this is only the start of the story of the Grand Canyon.

Water and Gravity

At the Eastern Mouth

Navigate your way through 80 million years of history and learn about the formation of the Grand Canyon.

Geological Survey: 5K

Explore the Grand Canyon and its history!