The geologic history of the Grand Canyon is visible in its rock layers.

The human history at Grand Canyon is summarized by the following list:

10,000 years ago : Paleoindians at Grand Canyon

3-4,000 years ago : Desert Culture at the Canyon

900 years ago : Prehistoric Pueblo Peoples (Anasazi) in the Canyon

1540 : First Europeans (Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas) visit Canyon with Hopi guides

1826 : James Ohio Pattie, first American visits Canyon

1869 : Major John Wesley Powell leads first successful expedition down the Colorado River

1871 : First photographs of Grand Canyon by Timothy O'Sullivan

1882 : Senator Benjamin Harrison introduces first bill to create Grand Canyon National Park

1883 : Harrison introduces legislation again

1883 : John Hance, first Grand Canyon settler, arrives

1886 : Again, Harrison unsuccessfully tries to create a national park

1893 : Now President Harrison creates Grand Canyon Forest Reserve

1901 : Train service to Grand Canyon begins

1902 : The first auto, a Toledo Eight Horse, arrives at Grand Canyon

1902 : Ellsworth and Emery Kolb establish their photography business at the Canyon

1903 : President Theodore Roosevelt visits the Grand Canyon

1905 : The El Tovar Hotel opens for business

1906 : President Teddy Roosevelt creates Grand Canyon Game Preserve

1908 : President Teddy Roosevelt creates Grand Canyon National Monument

1910/11 : Senate Bills are introduced and fail to create a national park

1912 : Arizona receives statehood

1915 : Annual visitation to the Canyon reaches 106,000

1916 : National Park Service created

1917 : House and Senate Bills are introduced to create a national park

1918 : Both bills pass

1919 : President Woodrow Wilson signs the Grand Canyon Park bill, February 26th

1919 : The National Park Services assumes control of the park

1919 : Annual visitation to the park drops to 44,000 due to World War I

1920 : Official dedication ceremonies occur at the Canyon, April 30th - May 2nd

1928 : The Kaibab suspension bridge is constructed across the Colorado River

1932 : Grand Canyon National Monument in the western Grand Canyon is created

1956 : Annual visitation exceeds 1,000,000

1956 : Construction of Glen Canyon Dam is authorized

1963 : Gates of Glen Canyon Dam close, the Colorado River ceases to be a wild river through Grand Canyon

1966 : Crystal Rapid, one of the canyon's toughest, is created by a flash flood down Crystal Creek drainage

1969 : Annual visitation exceed 2,000,000

1969 : Marble Canyon National Monument created

1975 : President Ford signs Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act, Grand Canyon and Marble Canyon National Monuments are absorbed into the park

1976 : Annual visitation exceeds 3,000,000

1986 : Mid-air collision between sightseeing helicopter and small plane killing all passengers

1989 : Operators of Glen Canyon Dam are instructed to assess dam operations and ways to minimize impacts to the Grand Canyon

1991 : National Park Service begins drafting a new general management plan to guide future administration of the park

1991 : President George Bush visits Grand Canyon to witness the signing of a landmark agreement to minimize air pollution coming from Navajo Generating Station

1992 : Annual visitation exceeds 4,000,000

1993 : Annual visitation misses 5 million by only 70,000

1994 : Grand Canyon National Park pages (GRAND CANYON Explorer) go up on World Wide Web :-)

2001 : Pocket PC version of GRAND CANYON Explorer
 

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