14 FUN FACTS ABOUT
THE GRAND CANYON
By Jeannie Meekins
A LearningIsland.com
15 - Minute Book
Editor: Jennifer Robinson
Pictures by the National Park Service (NPS) unless otherwise noted
Smashwords Edition
Text (c) Copyright 2011 Jeannie Meekins. All rights reserved.
Published by LearningIsland.com.
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14 Fun Facts About the Grand Canyon / Jeannie Meekins
Summary: A brief look at some fun facts about the Grand Canyon.
1. Grand Canyon. Juvenile Literature. 2. United States. Juvenile Literature.
Words: 1923
Reading Level: 6.9
Ages 9 and up.
Billions of years ago the world was a very different place. The continents as we know them did not exist. Islands, such as Hawaii, did not exist. Rainforests thrived where deserts now stand. Many mountain ranges were flat plains. Even life did not exist.
The Earth’s crust is a thin shell. A jigsaw puzzle of pieces that sit on a bed of molten rock. They move, pushing, pulling, smashing and grinding against each other. Molten rock finds weak spots or holes and spews itself forth into the atmosphere. This happens not only on dry land but under our seas.
Most of our planet’s crust is covered by water. It has always been so. But the forces beneath the crust lifts land to appear in areas where it did not, and sinks other lands beneath the sea.
How do we know all this with such accurate detail? There were no people around billions of years ago to see it, or to record it.
The answer is simple. All we have to do is look. The evidence is all around us.
One of the best places to look is the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA.
Fact 1: The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world
The Grand Canyon is located in Arizona in the United States of America. It is a huge group of canyons that have been cut into the landscape by the Colorado River.
In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt set aside part of the land as a national monument. Roosevelt believed that the canyon should be left as it is and looked after for other generations to enjoy. He felt it was something that every American should see.
In 1929, an act of Congress established that land as a National Park.
In 1932, President Herbert Hoover set aside more land for the park, as another national monument.