Many states have nicknamed their own versions of the Grand Canyon, but one of the most famous is the so-called “Grand Canyon of Texas,” which is slightly smaller than the famous Arizona canyon it’s nicknamed for. Located in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Palo Duro Canyon is the second-largest canyon in the country, at 120 miles long and six miles wide on average.

It’s a common misconception that the Grand Canyon is the deepest canyon in the U.S. The Grand Canyon’s deepest point reaches about 6,000 feet. Hells Canyon, running along the border of Oregon and Idaho, exceeds the depth of the Grand Canyon by plunging nearly 8,000 feet in some places.

The Hopi Tribe are one of the 11 Native American tribes that have deep ties to the Grand Canyon. According to their beliefs, the tribe first emerged from the canyon and will pass through it once again on their way to the afterlife. Visitors can check out the Hopi House to learn more about this tribe and their canyon traditions.

It may seem odd, but the animal dubbed most dangerous in the Grand Canyon is the rock squirrel. The creatures may be cute, but they can also be aggressive, especially when visitors are unnecessarily invading their space. Rock squirrels are known to bite people just for being near them.

Visitors can check out the highest point on the rim of the Grand Canyon at Point Imperial, which reaches 8,803 feet above sea level. The point, found along the canyon’s north rim, also marks the northernmost boundary of Grand Canyon National Park.

Fossils in the Grand Canyon date back to the Precambrian Time, about 1.2 billion years ago. The newest fossils are from the Paleozoic Era, which was about 525 to 270 million years ago. Because of that, the rocks comprising the canyon are too old to have any evidence of dinosaurs.

Javelinas, mule deer, and hog-nosed skunks are among the 91 mammal species that call the Grand Canyon home. However, American pikas are tiny rodent-like animals that live in the alpine terrain above the tree line of the Rocky Mountains. Pikas are a type of small rabbit, measuring about seven to eight inches long, with big round ears.

Only one cave in the entirety of the Grand Canyon is open to visitors: the Cave of the Domes, which is located on Horseshoe Mesa. To date, 335 caves have been recorded in the canyon, and geologists estimate that about 700 more are hidden in the canyon walls. Fossils, artifacts, and unique mineral formations can be found in the caves.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park received 12.9 million visits in 2022 — nearly four times as many people as the Grand Canyon, the next park on the list. The park straddles the forested ridges between North Carolina and Tennessee and is known for exceptional hiking trails and abundant wildflowers. Grand Canyon National Park welcomed 4.7 million visitors in 2022, just ahead of Zion National Park in Utah.

Thanks to the Grand Canyon’s size — 277 miles long and 18 miles wide — and sudden elevation changes, the canyon creates its own weather systems. And the most intense weather differences are often pretty close. The coldest and wettest area of the canyon (Bright Angel Ranger Station) is only eight miles from the hottest and driest section (Phantom Ranch.)

Considered the “guardians of the Grand Canyon,” the Havasupai are one of the 11 Native American tribes associated with Grand Canyon National Park but the only tribe still living within the rim’s walls. The tribe lost much of its traditionally sacred land when the national park was formed in 1919, but in the 1970s some of that land was returned in a congressional bill.

Visitors to the Grand Canyon can take an exhilarating walk out over the canyon on the Skywalk. The horseshoe-shaped bridge extends 70 feet out into the air over the West Rim. The floor of the walkway is glass, so thrill-seekers can see right down to the bottom of the chasm 4,000 feet beneath them.

The widely accepted age of the Grand Canyon is around 6 million years old. However, that has been met with some scientific debate — a study conducted in 2012 revealed that the canyon could date back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth, around 60 to 70 million years ago. These claims have been met with controversy, and some speculate that the canyon could have been formed in pieces.

Supai, the only town within the Grand Canyon, sits 3,000 feet down past the canyon’s rim, and is only accessible by helicopter, hiking, or riding an animal. According to Smithsonian Magazine, Supai is the most remote town in the contiguous U.S. About 200 people live there, and they are the only people in the country to receive their mail by mule.

The Grand Canyon stretches 277 miles long — wider than the entire state of Utah. It also ranges between four and 18 miles wide and stretches over a mile deep at its deepest point, which is 6,000 feet below the surface. Grand Canyon National Park as a whole spans more than 1.2 million acres of land.

Perhaps the Grand Canyon seems less grand when it's your neighbor. Arizonans simply refer to the 277-mile-long canyon — the largest in America — as "The Big Ditch." If you think that's an understatement, wait until you see the scenic "Red Rocks" of Sedona.

During his two terms as U.S. President in the early 1900s, Theodore Roosevelt became known as the “Conservationist President” for persevering roughly 230 million acres of public land. That includes the Grand Canyon, which Roosevelt declared a national monument on January 11, 1908. It became a national park by an act of Congress 11 years later.

Though it’s not the deepest canyon in the world, the Grand Canyon more than lives up to its name. The canyon averages around 4,000 feet deep and reaches a maximum depth of 6,000 feet — that’s enough to stack more than four Empire State Buildings atop one another.

The Grand Canyon was formed by the Colorado River., which flows down from the Rocky Mountains, through the canyon, and out to the Gulf of California — draining water from ​​41,070 square miles of land during its course. Smaller rivers in the canyon that feed into it include the Little Colorado, the Paria, and the Havasu and Kanab Creeks.

Covering 1,214 square miles, Rhode Island is America’s smallest state — so small, in fact, that the entire Grand Canyon would not fit in it. The Grand Canyon covers an area of 1,902 square miles and stretches 277 miles long. While Rhode Island’s size may pale in comparison to the Grand Canyon, it does have nearly 400 miles of shoreline, giving it the nickname of “the Ocean State.”

The entirety of the Grand Canyon — all 1,902 square miles of it — is located within Arizona’s borders. Visitors can find it in the northwest corner of the state, near Utah and Nevada. The canyon is the centerpiece of the Grand Canyon National Park, visited by 5.9 million people annually, though portions of the canyon are located outside of the park, in tribal lands.