Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona protects 1,218,375 acres encompassing the most spectacular portion of the Grand Canyon — a 277-mile gorge carved by the Colorado River that exposes nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history. The canyon reaches depths of over a mile, with layered bands of colorful rock revealing the geological story of the North American continent. President Theodore Roosevelt, who first visited in 1903, declared it a national monument in 1908; it became a national park in 1919. Eleven Native American tribes, including the Havasupai, Hualapai, Navajo, and Hopi, have ancestral connections to the canyon. The Grand Canyon was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and receives over six million visitors annually.
📚 Learn More at NPSHistory.com →On January 27, 2026, staff at Grand Canyon National Park removed portions of an exhibit from the visitor center after flagging what park leadership characterized as "problematic passages" to National Park Service administration.
The removed content included historical passages that documented how settlers had "exploited land for mining and grazing" and how federal officials had "pushed tribes off their land" in the process of establishing the national park. Additional text mentioned cattle ranchers who "carelessly overgrazing" rangeland and entrepreneurs who "profited excessively" from tourism development in the park.
The removal reflects the broader pattern of historical content being systematically eliminated from national park interpretive materials. The exhibit materials had been developed by professional historians and were part of the park's long-standing educational program.
Additional items flagged but not yet confirmed removed: A video about Native American history, roadside displays addressing climate change and pollution impacts, and materials discussing mining operations in and around the park.
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