Image description: The Grand Canyon stretches for 277 miles and covers more than 1 million acres of land in Arizona.
Sunday marks the 93rd anniversary of the establishment of the Grand Canyon National Park. On February 26, 1919, Congress officially passed the act establishing the park in Arizona.
Known as one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles and is cut down the middle by the Colorado River. The national park covers more than 1 million acres of land in northern Arizona.
Senator Benjamin Harrison was the first to create a bill protecting the Grand Canyon, and pushed for it multiple times. As President, Harrison established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893. Senate bills to make it a national park were shot down twice, until finally, in 1919, the Grand Canyon National Park Act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson.
On November 7, 2011 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis designated Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park as America’s 397th National Park.
Home to one of the nation’s largest and most spectacular waterfalls, Great Falls was harnessed to power new idustries and played a key role in shaping the American Industrial Revolution and building the U.S. economy.
Photo by Tami Heilemann, U.S. Department of the Interior
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend, all national parks are free, January 14-16. Find one near you.
