On January 11, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt made more then 800,000 acres of the the Grand Canyon area a national monument. The History Channel quotes him, “Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is,” he declared. “You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children’s children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.” The Grand Canyon National Park Act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919.
The National Park Service, created in 1916 and and responsible for administering the Park, provides information about the Grand Canyon online, including some stunning photos, audio files of natural sounds (like a bugling elk and birds at sunrise), podcasts, information about its history and culture, and videos. There are even a couple of webcams.
The Library of Congress provides information online about the Grand Canyon, including photographs, a 1919 Rand McNally map, and a “vivid description of the Grand Canyon” written by Charles Dudley Warner about his visit in 1890.
Andersen Library has more information, if you’re interested.
Search HALcat (Harold Andersen Library’s catalog) to find titles such as The wilderness warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the crusade for America (3rd-floor Main Collection, E757 .B856 2009), Down the great unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 journey of discovery and tragedy through the Grand Canyon (3rd-floor Main Collection, F788 .D65 2001), and A place called Grand Canyon: Contested geographies (3rd-floor Main Collection, GF504.A6 M67 1996).
Search article databases to find articles such as “The California River and its role in carving Grand Canyon” (Geological Society Of America Bulletin, July 1, 2011, vol.123:no.7/8, pp.1288-1316), “Grand Canyon: Bigger than life” (National Parks, Spring 2008, vol.82:no.2, pp.1-3), and “The canyon dwellers” (American West, 1967, vol.4:no.2, p.22- , available in Andersen Library’s 1st-floor print Periodicals Collection).
Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials.
