Although the Grand Canyon of Arizona was never thoroughly explored until 1869, it has been known to the civilized world since 1540, when early Spanish explorers discovered it. Several expositions became acquainted with the river and the great gorge, but they failed in every effort to descend the canyon wall.

Then for years the Grand Canyon was visited only by Indians, Mormon herdsmen, or trappers. In 1851 an exposition called the Sitgreaves expedition, going westward, struck the river about 150 miles above Yuma. Three years later Lieutenant Whipple made a survey for a railroad route where the Santa Fé Pacific Railroad was later constructed.

A few years later military posts were established in New Mexico and Utah, and a waterway for cheap movement of supplies was sought by the government.

In 1857 the war department sent an exposition led by Lieutenant Ives to explore the Colorado River from its mouth as far up as it was navigable. Ives ascended the river in a specially constructed steamboat to the head of Black Canyon, where navigation became impossible. Then he returned a little way and set off across the country toward the northeast. Ives reached the Grand Canyon at Diamond Creek and Cataract Creek in the spring of 1858. From there he made a wide detour southward to the San Francisco Peaks, then northeast to the Hopi pueblos, then east to Fort Defiance, and so back to civilization. 

Although the Grand Canyon of Arizona was never thoroughly explored until 1869, it has been known to the civilized world since 1540, when early Spanish explorers discovered it.  Several expositions became acquainted with the Colorado River and the great gorge, but they failed in every effort to descend the canyon wall.

The Colorado River

The Colorado River may best be visualized by a description appearing in a magazine in 1915.

"The Colorado is one of the great rivers of North America.  It is formed in southern Utah by the merging of the Green and Grand Rivers.  It cuts to the northwest corner of Arizona, and, becoming the eastern boundary of Nevada and California, flows southward until it reaches Tidewater in the gulf of California, Mexico.  Most of its course lies far from the haunts of civilization in the heart of a vast region fenced on one hand by burning, dry plains are deep, and impenetrable on the other by mighty mountains.

The gorge of the Colorado River seems from above to be hung with black,  and its waters appear to creep slowly and silently save where here and there they surge and rattle amid the savage rocks.   The waters of the river when they give voice seem to sing dirges. In places the river is calm and tranquil; but just a little farther on, where rocks rise in an effort to impede its progress, it roars with anger, and sweeps along in a muddy, yellow torrent, broken by tossing foam and spray.

When one stands beside the river at the bottom of this gulch and sees it shoot swiftly by to disappear mysteriously between somber gates of granite, he realizes what a heroic exploit the first navigation of this river was.

It is no wonder that the Colorado River has always been regarded with superstitious awe.  It represents in diminished form of the element that has produced America with the Grand Canyon,----water.  Ages and ages ago, at the very beginning of the story of the world, the Colorado was the outlet of an inland sea which drained off toward the Pacific as the country of the northwestern Arizona rose.  The Grand Canyon illustrates on a huge scale the system of erosion which as deeply furrowed the entire region.  It was not formed by a sudden mighty effort of nature: it was all done slowly by water, assisted by the action of wind and storm.

It is impressive to think of what an appalling length of time it must have taken to cut down and remove these layers of sandstone, marble, and granite thousands of feet in thickness. It is triumphal evidence of Nature's patient, but insistent methods.With such methods thousands of years must be reckoned with mere minutes of time."

Pioneers of the Canyon

For many hundred miles the course of the Colorado River was unknown. Even its origin was a matter of conjecture.  In 1869, Major J. W. Powell undertook the exploration of the river with nine men and four boats.
Everyone urged him not to attempt this journey.  Even the Indians, who were best acquainted with the region, maintained that boats could not possibly live in any one of a score of rapids and falls known to them, to say nothing of the vast unknown stretches in which at any moment some mighty cataract might be disclosed.  It was also believed that for hundreds of miles, the river even disappeared entirely beneath the surface of the earth.  Another danger that threatened the brave little band was the fact that after a heavy rain the Colorado often rises fifty or sixty feet and becomes a torrent as fierce threads that the rapids of Niagara.

But these things didn't deter Powell.  He launched his expedition from Green River City on May 24, 1869, and landed August 30 at the mouth of the Virginia River, more than 1000 miles by river channel from the place of starting. He had lost two boats, and four men had deserted the exposition.  One man left before the party had reached Arizona, and the other three, after holding out against the unknown terrors for many weeks, had finally given in to their fears.  After a perilous ascent of the canyon walls and a long aimless wandering on the plateau, they finally were captured and killed by Indians, who did not believe their story, but held them responsible for a mischievous brawl that had recently occurred.

Powell's courageous journey, was followed by a trip by the Kolb brothers in 1911.  They made the dangerous journey successfully in two boats, recording their adventures in moving pictures.

The canyon had a number of interesting pioneer characters.  Oh please, perhaps John Hance is the best-known.  He wandered down from the north, "caught the canyon fever,", as it might be called, and settled there for the rest of his life.  Captain Hance was for years the canyon guide, and parties that came over from Flagstaff by stage were conducted down the trail by him.  He was also a great storyteller.  He used to say that he once tried to jump his horse  across the canyon.  "He give a fine big jump--but when we was 'bout half way over I seed we couldn't make it, so I turned him back."

There are many anecdotes of John Hance.  The following is a characteristic one.  A little girl asked him, "Mr. Hance, what made the canyon?"  He looked at her face with all seriousness and said, "why, I dug it."  With the fatal directness of a questioning child, she put a question to him.  "Well, what did you do with all the dirt?"  John Hance was equal to the occasion.  Pointing toward  Flagstaff,  he said, "Why, I dumped it over there, and made the San Francisco Peaks out of it.

W.W. Bass was another interesting character.  He was born at Shelbyville, Indiana, October 2, 1849.  His father died at Sacramento in the Gold Rush to California.  Bass himself worked for the elevated Railroad in New York until his health broke down, and then he went west.  He had many adventures there, one of which was his first visit to the Havasupai Indians. It was on this trip that he was a suspect in a having murdered his companion, J.W. McKinney.  McKinney's return, after having been rescued by Indians from dying of thirst, proved his innocence.  Shortly afterward Bass made a visit to the Grand Canyon.  He spent a great deal of time and money making the canyon accessible to visitors.  He practically built the Mystic Spring Trail, later known as Bass Trail.

Louis Boucher (boo-shay) was born at Meriden, Connecticut.  He wandered down to the canyon as a prospector and settled on the plateau at the point called No Man's Land.  He lived there all alone and built the Boucher trail.  Very close to his own camp, he discovered the presence of graphite.  From this he hoped to make a fortune.  For years he worked hard against continual disappointment.  Finally he gave up.

Ralph Henry Cameron came from Maine.  He became interested in various copper and silver mines in Arizona, and improved the Bright Angel Trail.  For a while, he would hear if of Coconino County, Arizona, and later on was elected to Congress.

Peter Barry was one of the real old-timers.  He built and owned the Grand View Hotel, and was the guide for travelers down the Grand View Trail.

Development of the Canyon Rim

Imagine riding for miles along the top of the wall that drops straight down 2000 feet, and just below that another drop of 1500 feet.  That is the ride along the rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was a unique scenic roadway.  It was called the Hermit Rim Road, and was built by the Santa Fe Railroad from El Tovar westward to the head of Hermit Basin, a distance of 7 1/2 miles.  Herman Rim Road was like a city boulevard in the wilderness.  It was wide, smooth, and dustless. The first part was 2 miles long, and consisted of the old cinder road from Hopi Point that was then rebuilt. The news section was nearly 6 miles long, and was an example of the most skillful engineering work.

The road followed the rim closely.  No other roadway in the world was like it.  It was an ideal way of seeing the gigantic panorama of the Grand Canyon.  It was as safe and easy as riding along a broad, well kepy city avenue.  As the advance was made new beauties unfolded themselves to view.

The Southern Rim was well known and familiar to visitors.  The Northern Rim had many irregular plateaus that were wild and seldom visited.  The Kaibab Plateau, straight across from El Tovar, is covered with woods, and is the home of wild animals, especially deer, bear,and mountain lion.  To the west of that is the Shinumo Plateau, in which Shinumo Canyon is cut. Here Shinumo ruins have been found, the remains of a prehistoric people.  The next plateau to the west of that is called Kanab plateau. This is covered with ruins, and on its northern border the Mormon town of Kanab is situated.

Upon the plateaus and down the sides of the gorges at various spots in the Grand Canyon are to be found evidences of cliff dwellers, cave dwellers, and other races that lived long before history began its records.

The Grand Canyon Trails

Every body is told to go down the trails.  Some people tramp down and back; but that is hard work.  The majority ride down on horses, mules or burros.  For many it is full of emotions. Those who know how to ride an animal find the trip no ordeal, but pure joy.

Rim Trail
The perfect introductory hike, the Rim Trail extends from Mather Point in the Village west to Hermits Rest.

Bright Angel Trail
This well-maintained trail, constructed in 1891 to provide access to mining claims.

South Kaibab Trail
This 12.6-mile-round-trip trail is one of the few in the park that follow ridge lines rather than side canyons, allowing hikers unobstructed and spectacular canyon views.

Hermit Trail
This 17-mile round trip on an unmaintained route leading from the canyon rim to the Colorado River.

Grandview Trail
The highlight of this six-mile-round-trip trail is its descent onto Horseshoe Mesa, where remnants of Pete Berry's mining operation can still be seen.

Bright Angel Point Trail
An easy, self-guided nature trail to a spectacular view of the canyon.

North Kaibab Trail
The only maintained trail into the canyon from the North Rim, gives hikers an appreciation for the immense size of the canyon and its beauty.

There are other minor trails including, Transept Trail, Uncle Jim Trail, Widforss Trail and Ken Patrick Trail.

The Canyon In Art

There is no richer subject for the artist, especially if he is a colorist, than the Grand Canyon.  It is only natural, therefore, that artists should have been among the first to go there.  And the artists that first saw the glories of the canyon brought home such glowing reports that other artists soon followed.

A pioneer figure in the art history of the canyon is Thomas Moran.  His first visit was in 1873, only four years after the Powell expedition had made known the wonders of the canyon. His fame as a landscape painter was worldwide at that time.  He had spent two years in the Great West.  He added the canyon to his vast field of art and made it peculiarly his own subject.  He did much to make it known to the world at large.

Artists may be seen now at the canyon at almost any time of year.  A seated figure with easel or sketchbook is a common sight along the rim.  Some of them are there to paint, others simply to take a lesson in color from nature.  Painting the Grand Canyon is a big undertaking, and it is only a big painter that can go through with it successfully.