9 Completely Random (But Fascinating) Grand Canyon Facts 

Over the years, I’ve collected a wealth of random facts that don’t quite fit into any specific category. So today, I thought I’d share some of the completely random things I’ve learned about the Grand Canyon—because if I have to know them, so do you!

1.Grand Canyon National Park is bigger than Rhode Island.
We all know the Grand Canyon is massive, but the scale can be hard to grasp. For comparison: Rhode Island covers about 1,034 square miles, while Grand Canyon National Park spans approximately 1,902 square miles. That makes the park nearly 870 square miles larger than the entire state of Rhode Island!

2.The FAA exists (in part) because of a crash over the Grand Canyon.
It may sound surprising, but it’s true. In 1956, a Trans World Airlines (TWA) flight en route from Los Angeles to Kansas City and a United Airlines flight headed to Chicago collided in midair over the Grand Canyon. Both flights had deviated from their planned paths to give passengers a better view. Tragically, all 128 people on board both planes were killed. At the time, it was the deadliest aviation disaster in U.S. history. The crash exposed serious flaws in the air traffic control system and led to the creation of the Federal Aviation Agency (later the Federal Aviation Administration) in 1958.

3.The Grand Canyon is over a mile deep.
At its deepest point, the canyon is about 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) deep—that’s over a mile! To visualize it: imagine stacking about four Empire State Buildings or nearly two Burj Khalifas on top of each other.

4.The narrowest part of the Colorado River in the canyon is just 74 feet wide.
Around river mile 135, the Colorado River narrows to just 74 feet across. That’s roughly the length of two of our motorboats lined up end to end—remarkably narrow for such a mighty river!

5. Nearly 450 bird species call the Grand Canyon home.
The canyon lies on a major migratory path and is home to or visited by about 447 species of birds. One notable resident is the peregrine falcon, the fastest animal on Earth, which can reach diving speeds of over 200 mph (320 km/h).

6. The Grand Canyon gets snow.
When most people picture the Grand Canyon, they imagine a hot, dry desert. But it experiences all four seasons, including snowfall in winter, especially on the North Rim, which sits at a higher elevation. The sight of red rock dusted with snow is truly stunning.

7. The North and South Rims are at different elevations.
The South Rim, which is more accessible and popular with visitors, sits at around 7,000 feet above sea level. The North Rim is higher, at approximately 8,000 feet, making it cooler and often snowier.

8.The Grand Canyon is just one part of the Colorado River’s journey.
The Grand Canyon itself is about 278 miles long, but the Colorado River, which carved the canyon, stretches roughly 1,450 miles from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to the Gulf of California in Mexico.

9. The Grand Canyon contains one of geology’s greatest mysteries.
Geologists use rock layers to study Earth’s history, and the Grand Canyon offers one of the clearest rock records on the planet. But there’s a section known as the “Great Unconformity,” where more than a billion years of rock layers are missing. Scientists debate whether this gap was caused by erosion or simply a lack of deposition, but it remains one of Earth’s biggest geological puzzles.

There are hundreds more interesting facts about this place, but you’ll have to visit to learn more! Check out our available trips!