Where the wild things are: a spotter’s guide to the Grand Canyon

Well, hello everyone. My name is Tim Wilson, I’ve been working here as a guide to the Grand Canyon for almost 12 years now for Insight, as well as running other tours here at the south rim of the canyon.

We have an incredibly diverse environment, especially when it comes to the plants and animals out here. In fact, the Grand Canyon has the greatest diversity of plant life in any national park of the United States. There’s a very low amount of rainfall and overall water during the year, so they are adapted for a harsh desert environment. And a lot of that has to do with our vastly changing ecosystems based on elevation and climate – it gets hotter and drier as you get to the bottom.

The Grand Canyon has an incredible geological history. Over half a billion years of sedimentary rock layers are on display, recording much of the time before the dinosaurs. Grand Canyon was mostly formed by water erosion. Everything you see here today is the product of the Colorado River; water and gravity working together over time.

Studying the rocks and seeing how these changes manifest over time gives us a better understanding of how dynamic our planet is, how fast things can change, and better helps us prepare for the future.

You may also like: The beauty and splendor of America’s Canyonlands – by Brad Ford Insight Vacations president, Canada

One of the first things that strikes people about Grand Canyon is all the colorful rocks out here, and the amazing diversity we have in their appearance. Each layer of the canyon formed in a different environment, the beaches, river deltas, mudflats under the ocean. All of these contributed the different minerals inside the rocks, and that gives them all the different colors.

So we get a lot of iron-rich sediments out here that give us those beautiful red and pink and magenta colours. While desert environments and ocean floors are often dominated by sandstone and limestone, which can tend to be a little more dull than those red colours, they also have a diverse amount of minerals to give them a little bit of flair.

Geologists are particularly interested in the vast amount of history on display out here and how much the rocks record the time before the dinosaurs. We don’t get a lot of those layers around the world and have such a complete suite of that strata – it’s really exciting. Also, we’ve got a lot of caves, and the movement of groundwater is of particular interest to the geologists. It’s maybe one of the last pieces of the Grand Canyon puzzle: how the underground movement of water affected the erosion out here.

The science never ends, we’re always looking for more data and more evidence of different things that happened in the past. And I am incredibly interested in the movement of material and how erosion rates have been affected over the years by different climate conditions. We were much drier during the ice age. That definitely would have hastened the erosion as it exposed more rock.

Science is always changing, and our understanding of things changes as well. The first geologist to study the Grand Canyon thought that the river was the oldest feature out here. And that of course, the canyon came later. But that was because they thought that the river was staying at one level, while the land was going up and the river just carved right through it. Now we know, due to ongoing science and more studies, that the river is kind of a young feature in this area, and it’s only recently carved Grand Canyon in the last 5 million years. And mostly by doing that from the top down.

You may also like: Uncover the secrets of the Grand Canyon

A lot of people ask where’s the best view here? I gotta be honest, there’s no bad view of the Grand Canyon. They’re all spectacular, but certain viewpoints I like a lot more than others. Desert View has an incredible view of the Colorado River. Probably the best from the south rim of the canyon. Also Mather and Hopi points offer amazing views especially for sunrise or sunset.

It’s important when you come here to leave no trace. That’s how we preserve and protect Grand Canyon so be sure to make sure you keep your belongings with you. Don’t leave anything lying around that might accidentally blow into the canyon or roll off the edge. Also, I recommend getting any souvenirs at the Grand Canyon conservancy gift shops. They’re the parks nonprofit partner, and all of the money that you spend there will go back to projects to further enhance visitor experiences, and to help preserve and protect the canyon.

Grand Canyon was designated a UNESCO heritage site several years ago. This is important to help preserve the canyon and give it greater international recognition. By partnering with agencies and groups all throughout the world, the National Park Service can better accomplish its mission of keeping this place exactly how it is. As Teddy Roosevelt said, we can’t improve it – we can only mar the Grand Canyon.

I get a lot of questions about the Grand Canyon, and sometimes a few of them are a bit out there. I often have to correct misconceptions that go around about the Grand Canyon. Probably the ones I hear about the most are about ancient lost cities, that are full of treasure or artefacts that are beyond value. Unfortunately, we don’t have anything like that out here, as cool as it might be. Grand Canyon has a long human history, but there’s nothing hidden out here. And there’s nothing that the government, or the Park Service, is trying to keep from us.

If you’re visiting Grand Canyon, there are a lot of resources to take in. If you’re interested about the geology, the plants, animals, and the history, I would first recommend the National Park Service website, specifically for the Grand Canyon. It’s a wealth of information with lots of downloadable guides when it comes to the rocks, flora and fauna. It also really helps you navigate the time you have in the park, and be able to maximise what you can see and do. So I would definitely recommend that Park Service website if you’re coming out here.

As our exploration comes to an end, we want to say a massive thank you to Tim, our guide to the Grand Canyon, for giving us a newfound appreciation for its beauty and plenty of curious insights. If you’re considering visiting, consider our tour, Enchanting Canyonlands, where you’ll meet Tim and other local experts who will show you all the sights and insights of this amazing region. With such an old, complex wonder, it really pays dividends to rely on the guile of experts. Though, this insightful guide to the Grand Canyon doesn’t hurt either.

Discover the majesty of the Grand Canyon on Enchanting Canyonlands