The known history of the Grand Canyon area stretches back 10,500 years
when the first evidence for human presence in the area started. Native
Americans have been living at Grand Canyon and in the area now covered
by Grand Canyon National Park for at least the last 4,000 of those
years. Drought in the late 13th century was the likely cause for these
cultures to move on. Under direction by conquistador Francisco Vasquez
de Coronado to find the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, Captain Garcia
Lopez de Cardenas led a party of Spanish soldiers with Hopi guides to
the Grand Canyon in September of 1540. Not finding what they were
looking for, they left. Over 200 years passed before two Spanish
priests became the second party of non-Native Americans to see the
canyon. In 1869, U.S. Army Major John Wesley Powell led the Powell
Geographic Expedition through the canyon on the Colorado River. This
and later study by geologists uncovered the geology of the Grand Canyon
area and helped to advance that science. In the late 19th century there
was interest in the region because of its promise of mineral
resources—mainly copper and asbestos. Although first afforded Federal
protection in 1893 as a forest reserve and later as a U.S. National
Monument, Grand Canyon did not achieve U.S. National Park status until
1919, three years after the creation of the National Park Service.
Today, Grand Canyon National Park receives about five million visitors
each year.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Grand_Canyon_area>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1610:
Polish–Muscovite War: The outnumbered forces of the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth defeated the Russians at the Battle of Klushino.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Klushino>
1776:
In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of
Independence, announcing that the thirteen American colonies were no
longer a part of the British Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence>
1941:
German AB-Aktion operation in Poland: After capturing Lwów, the Nazis
executed approximately 45 professors of the University of Lwów.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Lviv_professors>
1976:
Israel Defense Forces raided Uganda's Entebbe International Airport to
free hostages taken by hijackers on Air France Flight 139.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe>
2005:
The NASA space probe Deep Impact impacted the nucleus of the comet
Tempel 1 , excavating debris from its interior to study its
composition.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_%28space_mission%29>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pyrotechnics (n):
1. The art and technology of fireworks and related military
applications.
2. A display of fireworks.
3. (figuratively) An impressive display
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pyrotechnics>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important, in
some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not.
--Nathaniel Hawthorne
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne>