AfamousAmericanJohnMuirsaidin1898：“TheGrandCanyon…asunearthlyinthecolorandgrandeurandquantityofitsarchitectureasifyouhadfounditafterdeathonsomeotherstar.’’
LikeMuir，thoseofUSwhostandalongtherimarepromptedtowonderabouttheunearthlinessandtheforcesthatcreatedandarestillchangingthisplace.Aftermorethan100yearsofstudies，manythingsarestillobscure.Todayvisitorscomebythethousands——thegreatandsimpleoftheearth—a11inaspiritofmarvel.TravelerscomefromeverystateoftheUnion.fromeverycountryinEuropeandAsia，pilgrimstoashrinethatisthesameasthecreed.Fromthedepthsofthecanyoncomeswellingsilence.Seldomcanyouheartheroaroftheriver.Youcannotcatchthepatter.Likeapplause，fromtheleavesofthecottonwoodsontheshelf—likeplateaubelowyou.Forallsoundsareswallowedinthisgulfofspace.“Itmakesonewanttomurmur.”Awomanoncewhisperedtohercompanion.Thissilenceisnotthesilenceofdeath；rather，itisapresence.Itislikeagreatpieceofmusic.Butmusicmadeofmanworksuptoaclimaxandceases；theGrandCanyonisallclimax，achordechoingintoemmi~.PerhapsthemostspectacularfeatureoftheGrandCanyon，itsRed—walllimestonecliff，standsabouthalfwayupthechasmandispracticallyvertical.Itsaverageheightis550feet--almostexactlythatofthegtonMonument.Thoughitisactuallygray—bluelimestone，thesurfaceofthecliffhasbeenstainedtoasunsethuebyironsaltswashingoutoftherocks.AbovetheRedwallcomealternatinglayersofredsandstoneandshale1，000feetthick，thencomesthenextpale—bluelayer.Thetopmostlayersareayellowishlimestone.Now.visitorstotheSouthRimalonemaynumber18，000inasin—gleday.SomeofthatnumberwilltravelbymuletraindownBrightAn—gelTrailtothecanyon’Sfloor，crosstheragingfiverbyasuspensionbridgeandamounttotheNorthRim.Thoughthetworimsfaceeachotheracrossonly12miles，itisajourneyof214milesbyCarfromonetotheother.NorcanyouvisittheNorthRimexceptinsummer；some1，200feethigherthantheSouthRim，itissnowcoveredmuchoftheyearexceptinJulyandAugust.ButthereisnodaythatyoumaynotvisittheSouthRimandfindthesunwarmonyourfaceandtheairperfumedwiththeincenseofsmokefromanIndianhearth.TheGrandCanyonisanunearthlysight.NowonderanAmericanwriterandjournalistsaid，“Icamehereanathe—ist，anddepartedadevoutbeliever.’’