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DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 59
IF YOU LIKEWHY GO NOW
See a geological
wonderland eons
in the makingHOW TO GO
National Geographic offers several
trips that visit U.S. parks, including
the “Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion
National Parks Family Expedition.“
natgeoexpeditions.com/explore“The grandeur of the canyon confers dignity on
every form of life that touches it,” wrote famed
environmentalist Edward Abbey in the inaugural
issue of Traveler, in 1984. Since its designation as
a national park—the Grand Canyon celebrated
its centennial in 2019—this natural wonder in
northwest Arizona has dazzled visitors with its
immense scale (277 miles long, up to 18 miles
wide, and a mile deep) and breathtakingly
stratified geology that dates back to 1.8 billion
years ago. The explorer John Wesley Powell, one
of National Geographic’s founders, called the
canyon “the most sublime spectacle on Earth.”
Experienced hikers love the Nankoweap Trail,
a dramatic North Rim-to-river route. But all
views are unforgettable, from both rims down to
the Colorado River. Learn more in the National
Geographic Atlas of National Parks.WHEN TO GOSEP-
OCT
VISITNATIONAL PARK,
UNITED STATES
AMERICAN ICONS
GRAND
CANYON
NATURE36.^0
55
°^ N,^112.^12
24°^ WPACIFIC
OCEANPACIFIC
OCEANNORTH
AMERICAADAMS
CHALLAU