gorge ous

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Grand Canyon! Well, not the canyon itself, but the National Park encompassing the canyon and making it a protected space. (The canyon is much older than the park's 100+ years.) Actually, the park was a "Monument" before graduating to Park-dom. Technically, this is the anniversary of its Monument status.
And in a lesson in politics, please note, the inability to accomplish anything is not something new for our legislators. The first bill to create Grand Canyon National Park was introduced in 1882. President Benjamin Harrison established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed it the Grand Canyon Game Preserve in 1906. then Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908. The Grand Canyon National Park Act was finally signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. From the time someone (Benjamin Harrison) suggested it, to the time it became a law, 37 years passed. Fortunately the canyon barely noticed.

Everyone who sees the canyon is awed by the enormity. This is a powerful representation of what nature can do. In my 9th grade geology class we had to memorize the layers of rock visible in the walls of the canyon. There are something like 13 of them. Without cheating, I can remember one: Bright Angel Shale. Not very impressive, although, in my defense, 9th grade was a long time ago.

Update: How cool is it that I post about the Grand Canyon's rock layers on the father of modern geology, Nicholas Steno's birthday? (Thank you for the tip, Google Doodle.)