Grand Canyon
AA-2026-A13424
On the image
It's a very large hole in the ground, carved over millions of years by a river that probably had better things to do. Tourists in the 1970s would often stand at the rim, squint into the distance, and then point their cameras, attempting to distil the overwhelming grandeur into a rectangular slide film frame.
The act of trying to photograph the Grand Canyon from an aeroplane often resulted in pictures that conveyed exactly 0.001% of the actual experience. This was considered a successful capture, given the technological limitations and the sheer refusal of geological formations to fit neatly into a consumer-grade lens.
A slight haze hangs over the distant layers, adding to the general sense of immense, indifferent scale. One could look at this for hours, or one could look at it for five minutes and then move on to find a gift shop selling miniature carved rock formations.
The historian's note
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. It is one of the world's most impressive geological features, exposing nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history. The canyon averages 10 miles in width, is 277 miles long, and reaches depths of over a mile.
During the 1970s, aerial tours of the Grand Canyon by small aircraft or helicopter were a popular way for tourists to experience the immense scale of the landmark. These tours offered unique perspectives not available from the rim overlooks.
Grand Canyon National Park continues to be a major international tourist destination, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
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Visually related — by likeness
Grand Canyon Aerial View, Arizona, 1970s. 1970–1979. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-A13424. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/grand-canyon-aerial-view-arizona-1970s.
@misc{aaAA2026A13424,
title = {Grand Canyon Aerial View, Arizona, 1970s},
year = {1970–1979},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-A13424},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/grand-canyon-aerial-view-arizona-1970s}
}TY - ART TI - Grand Canyon Aerial View, Arizona, 1970s PY - 1970–1979 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-A13424 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/grand-canyon-aerial-view-arizona-1970s ER -
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