#2 -- American Indian history
#3 -- Hoover Dam
#4 -- Sandra Day O'Connor
#5 -- Canal system
#6 -- London Bridge
#8 -- Suffrage
#9 -- Star gazing
#10 -- Buffalo Soldiers
"It didn't even make it out of committee," said Jack Howell, one of the current park guides.
Today, visitors ponder the canyon's majesty, sweeping vista, striking hues of purple and red. But in the 1800s, some national leaders saw the natural wonder as a chance to make money. Becoming a national park would bring standards, limitations on commercial ventures they feared, Howell explained.
It took a presidential proclamation in 1893 by Benjamin Harrison to designate the canyon a forest reserve, Howell said. President Theodore Roosevelt signed his own proclamation making the Grand Canyon a national monument in 1908.
Finally, on Feb. 26, 1919, Congress gave it the official national-park designation.
"A lot of folks don't know the struggle it took; 37 years," Howell said. He marvels at the Canyon's popularity. "It's just a diverse place, not only in a geologic sense but in its wildlife and biological diversity. It's something that is on about everybody's bucket list to see."
Howell loves to watch as visitors get their first glimpse of the Canyon, taking in the sedimentary layers of limestone, sandstone and shale. "It takes their breath away," he said. "One woman who was sharing her experience with me had tears streaming down her face."
In 1919, the year the Grand Canyon received national-park status, about 44,000 people visited the natural wonder. Today, there are about 5million annual visits.
Archeological remains from several culture groups are found at the park, including Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Basketmaker, Cerbat, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo and Euro-American. No trip to the Canyon is complete without a walk through the majestic El Tovar Hotel.
-- Connie Sexton
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