Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon, AZ

August 26, 2005

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Vermilion Cliffs Monument - Marble Canyon, AZ


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Build a structure that provides the widest possible view of Grand Canyon yet harmonizes with its setting: this was architect Mary Colter's goal when the Fred Harvey Company hired her in 1930 to design a gift shop and rest area here at Desert View. Colter's answer was the Watchtower.

A perfectionist, Colter scrutinized every detail, down to the placement of nearly every stone. Each stone was handpicked for size and appearance. Weathered faces were left untouched to give the tower an ancient look. With a lavish, highly publicized dedication ceremony, the Watchtower opened in May 1933.

Mary Elizabeth Jane Cotter
For almost 50 years, Mary Colter designed structures and interiors throughout the Southwest for the Fred Harvey Company. Six of her works can be seen at Grand Canyon: Hopi House, Bright Angel Lodge, Lookout Studio, Hermits Rest, Phantom Ranch, and the Watchtower.















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Hance Rapids


The broad, sandy expanse on the north bank of the Colorado River is Unkar Delta, composed of rock debris carried from the North Rim by Unkar Creek. Prehistoric Pueblo people occupied numerous sites on Unkar Delta and along Unkar Creek for about 350 years (A.D. 850 to A.D. 1200)

With abundant water nearby, Unkar Delta provided a convenient home for these prehistoric people, particularly in winter. Prehistoric remains on Unkar Delta include dwellings and evidence of agriculture.



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Tusayan ruin


Cohonina and ancestral Pueblo (Kayenla Anasazi) people lived in this area in prehistoric time. The ancestral Puebloans built Tusayan about AD 1185.

Excavation of the Tusayan ruin was conducted in 1930 under the direction of Harold S. Gladwin and the staff of the Gila Pueblo of Globe, Arizona. They named it Tusayan following the Spanish nomenclature for the district; the exact meaning of the word Tusayan is lost to us. The museum was established to interpret the partially-excavated ruin. The ruin is unique in that no attempt was made at reconstruction, and portions of the ruin were deliberately left unexcavated-standard procedure today, but unheard of in 1930. The site represents the westernmost extension of the Kayenta Anasazi. It is one of the most heavily visited archaeological sites in the National Park system.









Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 ft (8851m). Forty-eight miles south of here, Humphreys Peak is one of a series of mountains known as the San Francisco Peaks, which once were active volcanoes. Geologically young, the peaks formed in the past six million years or so and have been active as recently as 1000 years ago.

The Hopi people believe that the San Francisco Peaks are the dwelling place of the Kachinas, their ancestral spirits.






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