Scott Craven and Melissa Yeager

Arizona Republic

Grand Canyon may be the most recognizable landmark on the planet. And it's large enough to hold countless facts, figures and historical details you probably never knew.

As Grand Canyon National Park celebrates its centennial during 2019, here are 100 things you should know about Arizona's natural wonder.

Grand Canyon facts and figures

1. In 1926, seven years after the Grand Canyon's became a national park, it had 37,745 visitors. In 2017, the latest year for which stats are available, the park had 6.2 million visitors.

2. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long and 18 miles wide at its widest point.

3. At 1.2 million acres (1,902 square miles), Grand Canyon is the 11th largest national park in the United States.

4. The park is larger than Rhode island (1,034 square miles).

5. With more than 6 million visitors a year to the South Rim, Grand Canyon is the second most-visited national park. Great Smoky Mountains National Park draws more than 11 million visitors annually.

MORE:Grand Canyon: 100 years of Arizona's icon

6. Though just 10 air miles separate the visitor services at the park's North and South rims, 211 road miles and more than four hours of windshield time await those who want to drive from one to the other.

7. Thanks to its remote location, the Grand Canyon's North Rim sees just 500,000 visitors a year.

8. The Colorado River drops nearly 2,000 feet during its journey through the Grand Canyon.

9. The oldest rocks are 1.8 billion years old, predating dinosaurs.The Canyon itself is roughly 6 million years old.

10. There are eight layers of exposed rock at the Grand Canyon.

11. On average, the Grand Canyon is a mile deep.

12. The North Rim is roughly 1,300 feet higher than the South Rim.

13. The Canyon boasts about 91 species of mammals, 447 species of birds, 58 species of reptiles and 18 species of fish (five of them native).

14. Botanists have counted 1,750 plant species growing in the park.

15. The Grand Canyon pink rattlesnake is found only within the park's boundaries. It's one of six rattlesnake species that live inside the park.

16. But the most dangerous creature at Grand Canyon, based on unfortunate encounters with visitors, is the rock squirrel. Dozens of people each year are bitten, many while attempting to feed — or take selfies with — the not-as-adorable-as-they-look creatures.

17. The Colorado River has a maximum depth of 85 feet.

18. The temperature of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon averages a chilly 50 degrees.

19. Yes, one of the seven wonders of the world has a physical address. It's 20 South Entrance Road, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023.

20. Need the park's mailing address? Send letters and packages to P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023.

Grand Canyon notable people

21. Based on archaeological findings, the first people passing through the Grand Canyon likely were hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago.

22. Eleven indigenous tribes are traditionally associated with the Grand Canyon, including the Hualapai, Havasupai, Hopi and Navajo.

23. In the late 19th century, mining drew many of the earliest American-European settlers. With precious minerals scarce, they found tourism a more lucrative career.

24. John Christmas Ives was the first Anglo to lead an expedition to explore Grand Canyon. In his 1861 report to Congress, he predicted the area would remain wilderness. "The region is, of course, altogether valueless. It can be approached only from the south, and after entering it there is nothing to do but leave," he wrote.

25. Famed explorer John Wesley Powell was the first to call it the Grand Canyon, doing so in 1871. Before Powell and his expedition team explored the Colorado River through the gorge and put it into perspective, it was called Big Canyon.

26. It seems the Grand Canyon has always been an Instagrammable spot. The Kolb brothers established a photo studio near Bright Angel trailhead. They took photos of people hiking and riding mules along the trail, then developed them in their studio and bound them in leather folders for $3 — approximately $83 today.

27. One of the first politicians to seek protection for Grand Canyon was President Benjamin Harrison. As a senator, he introduced three bills to Congress to make Grand Canyon a national park, the first in 1882. In 1893, President Harrison issued an executive order creating the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve, which put limits on logging.

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28. President Theodore Roosevelt kept the Grand Canyon rolling toward national-park status. Three years after he visited in 1903, he declared the area a Game Reserve, and in 1908 made it a national monument. Neither declaration required congressional approval.

29. President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation designating the Grand Canyon a national park in 1919. There is no evidence he ever saw the Canyon in person.

MORE:These 7 people helped shape Grand Canyon National Park.

30. Ralph Cameron, an Arizona prospector and businessman, had a bitter feud over federal protection for Grand Canyon. The U.S. government declared that Cameron, who had mining claims in the area, was trespassing on federal property. He successfully ran for Senate in 1920 and temporarily succeeded in removing funding to develop the park before being voted out of office.

31. Architectural pioneer Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter's work is still visible at the Grand Canyon. From Phantom Ranch on the Colorado River to Hermit's Rest to the Desert View Watchtower, she designed buildings to blend rather than compete with the environment.

32. Sitting presidents who have visited the Grand Canyon include William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

33. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon visited, but were not president at the time.

Visiting Grand Canyon

34. Absolutely the best tip if you're visiting during peak season: Buy an admission pass online, park in Tusayan (the little town just outside the front gate) and take a free shuttle to Grand Canyon Village. You'll avoid long entrance lines and a lengthy hunt for a parking spot.

35. It's a 5-mile drive from the South Rim's front gate to the Rim itself and Grand Canyon Village, where the hotels and services are.

SHORT ON TIME? Experience the Grand Canyon in a day

36. Public Wi-Fi is available at two areas on the South Rim (the Canyon Village Market Deli and Yavapai Lodge) and one spot on the North Rim (the general store at the entrance of the campground).

37. Due to a slow connection, don't count on the Wi-Fi to allow you to do much beyond checking email and doing some light browsing.

38. In Market Village, the business district of the South Rim, there is a deli, grocery store, post office and bank.

39. If you want to travel like they did in the early 20th century, take the Grand Canyon Railway from Williams to the South Rim and back. The 65-mile journey takes 2 hours and 15 minutes.

40.Become a Junior Ranger by completing various activities when visiting the Grand Canyon. And you don't have to be a junior. In February 2019, 103-year-old Rose Torphy earned the title.

41. El Tovar hotel was built at a cost of $250,000 in 1904, roughly $7 million in today’s dollars. It opened in 1905 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

42. El Tovar hotel has 78 rooms, 12 of them suites, and no two rooms are alike.

43. You don't have to dress up to enjoy dinner in the El Tovar Dining Room, but don't wear shorts or flip-flops.

44. Other accommodations right on the South Rim are Thunderbird Lodge and Kachina Lodge (hotel rooms) and Bright Angel Lodge (cabins). The hotel rooms of Maswik Lodge are a 5-minute walk away. Yavapai Lodge rooms are a shuttle ride away near the Market Plaza.

45. The South Rim has an auto mechanic, but the shop is set up to deal only with minor repairs.

Outdoors at Grand Canyon

46. The Grand Canyon is bike-friendly. Bike rentals are available and shuttle buses are equipped with racks. Bike-only campsites are available at the South Rim's Mather Campground and the North Rim Campground.

47. Enjoy the Park Ranger Audio Tour by calling 928-225-2907. Each of the 30 stops along or near the South Rim is indicated by a sign. Call the number, tap which stop you're at, then listen to a two-minute narration of your surroundings. You can listen from anywhere, including from home, but it won't have the same impact as being there.

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48. The main trailheads along the South Rim are, from west to east: Hermit, Bright Angel, South Kaibab, New Hance and Tanner. These aren't the only ways to explore the canyon — other, more remote trailheads can be used, and hardy backpackers can put together extended routes using connecting trails below the Rim.

49. The first dramatic overlook on the popular South Kaibab Trail is called Ooh Ahh Point. It offers unparalleled panoramic views and is a good destination for day hikers as it's just 0.9 mile one way.

50. There can be a temperature difference of 20 degrees or more between the South Rim and the Canyon floor. In summer, it's often in the 80s on the Rim but 100 degrees or more at the Colorado River.

51. On average, 250 people must be rescued inside the Grand Canyon each year.

52. The biggest mistake visitors make is not carrying enough water, park rangers say. Hikers also underestimate the effort needed to get back to the rim, and wear improper footwear (including flip-flops and high heels).

DO'S AND DON'TS: 7 ways you're doing the Grand Canyon wrong

53. It takes a reasonably fit hiker four to five hours to hike from the South Rim to the Colorado River and, as rangers tell anyone who asks, twice as long to hike back up.

54. The fastest known Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim time (running or hiking from the South to the North and back) for women is 7 hours, 28 minutes and 58 seconds, set Nov. 21, 2018, by Taylor Nowlin of Portland, Oregon. Jim Walmsley of Flagstaff set the men's record of 5 hours, 55 minutes and 20 seconds on Oct. 4, 2016.

55. Should you leave unattended food at your campsite or picnic area, ravens will pounce. The birds are notorious for ravaging belongings in search of food.

56. Want to get married at the Grand Canyon? There are eight outdoor areas (six on the South Rim) and one indoor location (Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim). Lodges also are available.

57. Want to float the Colorado River? To get the best selection of trips and dates, reserve a commercial rafting trip a year ahead of time. But you might find dates just a month out, based on demand or cancellations.

58. Private rafting permits are a different matter. They are issued via weighted lottery, and some people wait as long as five years to score a permit.

59. Each year, 503 noncommercial launches are allowed on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. And 16 concessionaires offer commercial trips of three to 18 days.

COLORADO RIVER: Canyon rafting trip reveals a river in peril

60. Best rafting weather typically is in April, May, September and October. Those months offer best chances for dry, mild days.

61. The most unusual weather occurrence at the Grand Canyon is an inversion, where thick clouds fill the gorge below the Rim. It occurs once every few years.

62. On average, Grand Canyon National Park records 25,000 lightning strikes each year.

North Rim and Phantom Ranch

63. Because of cold weather that puts water pipes at risk, the North Rim is open seasonally: May 15-Oct. 15.

64. By Oct. 16 each year, Grand Canyon Lodge has been winterized. Water is shut off. Bedding and furnishings are wrapped in plastic to deter vermin, though when employees return in April to start the reopening process, they often find some rooms have been compromised.

65. The small guardhouse at the North Rim is unlocked during the winter closure, and is stocked with food and water should wayward hikers need emergency shelter.

66. A skeleton crew lives at the North Rim during the winter. When the snow comes, residents move their vehicles to Jacob Lake and rely on snowmobiles to get around.

67. The original lodge on the North Rim burned down in 1932. A new one rose in its place in 1937.

68. There is such a high demand for Phantom Ranch, the only public accommodations on the Canyon floor, that monthly lotteries are held for reservations 15 months out.

69. Two-person cabins at Phantom Ranch are $155 per night. Group cabins are $267 per night. A bed in the dorm is $53 per night.

70. Food costs at Phantom Ranch may seem high ($23.65 for breakfast; $47 for a steak dinner) until you factor in the cost and difficulty of transporting supplies.

71. Phantom Ranch also is home to a telecommunications unicorn: a pay phone. Callers must pay with credit cart or phone card.

72. The Kaibab Trail Suspension Bridge, also called the "Black Bridge," is one of two suspension bridges over the Colorado River in the span of 340 miles. It lies between Navajo Bridge to the east and Hoover Dam to the west.

73. The Black Bridge is 440 feet long and has been in use since 1928. It connects the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch.

74. The Silver Bridge, about 765 yards downstream from the Black Bridge, connects Phantom Ranch to the Bright Angel Trail.

Living at Grand Canyon

75. A pipe more than 60 years old runs from the Colorado River to the South Rim, supplying the area with its water.

76. The South Rim is a small city complete with school, library and community center for year-round employees and their families.

77. Grand Canyon is the only national park to have a K-12 school district. The park's first elementary school was established in 1911.

MORE:Here's proof the Grand Canyon is a pop culture icon

78. One of the most precious commodities on the South Rim is internet bandwidth. Senior employees are likely to live in houses with broadband connections. For residents who lack that, the best signals are found in and around the community center.

79. Religious services in the park are offered by seven churches and faiths.

80. Bowling is a popular pastime for some South Rim residents. Leagues compete at the six-lane alley inside Tusayan's Grand Canyon Squire Inn.

81. To be buried in the Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery, one must have worked at the park for least three years and have made a significant contribution to the understanding or appreciation of the Canyon.

The Skywalk isn't at Grand Canyon National Park

82. The Skywalk, the U-shaped, glass-bottom bridge that juts over the Canyon, is not in Grand Canyon National Park. It's at Grand Canyon West, on the Hualapai Reservation about 250 miles and five hours of drive time from the South Rim.

83. The Grand Canyon isn't the world's grandest. Tibet's Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon is 2 miles deeper and 30 miles longer.

84. In December 2017, a Las Vegas family was declared Grand Canyon's 6 millionth guests. Just one problem: A year-end audit revealed the park received 5.96 million visitors.

85. California has its own Grand Canyon — sort of. Riders aboard the Disneyland Railroad travel along the South Rim via a 306-foot-long diorama, the longest of its kind when it opened in 1958.

86. In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service destroyed 100 million Grand Canyon stamps. According to those stamps, the Canyon was in Colorado.

87. In 1979, the Canyon was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

88. It's estimated that in 2017 Grand Canyon National Park created $938 million in economic benefit and 9,423 jobs in northern Arizona, according to the National Park Service.

89. Less than a fifth of the Colorado River's length runs through Grand Canyon National Park. The river is 1,450 miles long, 277 of which are in the park.

90. Of the 335 recorded caves in the park, only one is open to the public: Cave of the Domes on Horseshoe Mesa. Officials estimate more than 1,000 caves are tucked into the Grand Canyon.

Want to scatter ashes at Grand Canyon?

91. Want to scatter a loved one's ashes at the Canyon? According to the park's website, human ashes may be spread in undeveloped areas away from roads, buildings and campgrounds. The ashes must be well dispersed and have no teeth, bone fragments or other recognizable remnants. And no markers are permitted.

92. Tusayan is the small town 2 miles outside the national park's front gate. It's home to seven hotels and an RV park, as well as several restaurants and souvenir stores.

93. If seeing the actual natural wonder isn't enough for you, visit the Imax Theater in Tusayan to see "Grand Canyon: Hidden Secrets," a 34-minute film showing up to 10 times a day.

94. In the late 1800s, the 65-mile stagecoach journey from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon took 12 hours. A “tiny tent village” awaited visitors, according to the Arizona Republican newspaper.

95. Believing the Canyon to be a Masonic Lodge carved by God, Phoenix Masons led by A.A. Betts met there in 1913 to confer first, second and third degrees in Masonry. Betts referred to the Canyon as “an abysmal slit.”

96. In 1905, Utah politicians attempted to annex the Arizona Strip, the land north of Canyon and abutting the Utah state line. Their efforts (as well as offers to buy or trade for the land) spanned more than a decade but came to nothing.

97. The first recorded flight to span the Grand Canyon occurred Feb. 24, 1919. It fueled dreams of passenger flights between the El Tovar hotel on the South Rim and Bright Angel Point on the North Rim. The idea never took off.

98. On June 30, 1956, two passenger planes out of Los Angeles collided over the Grand Canyon, killing all 128 aboard. Poor communication, outdated visual flight rules and turbulent weather played crucial parts, and the crash was one of the accidents that inspired the 1958 creation of the Federal Aviation Administration.

99. Grand Canyon is the most popular national park on Instagram, based on the latest stats (2017). With 1.9 million tags, it beat out Yosemite National Park (1.7 million).

100. In the late 1950s, miners pulled roughly 1,000 tons of bat guano from a cave in a failed venture to capitalize on the fertilizer. Remnants of the mine, including a terminus of a tram, remain at Grand Canyon West.

Republic reporter Perry Vandell contributed to this story.