Massive. 277 river miles, which translates to roughly 446km is how long this monument is. The gaps between sandstone columns are up to 18miles wide and each column is on average a mile in height to create a deep fissure running through the land as seen from above.

Ancient. No one quite knows how it was first created or when it first gained the categorization of a canyon. These stones are anywhere between 70 and 6 million years in age with rare fossils of marine and small land animals trapped petrified in stone. The age distribution of the rocks is a baffling mystery that has yet to be uncovered, a physical representation of the Great Unconformity where rocks 250 million years old are found adjacent to those a billion years old with no trace of substance from the time between.

Awe-inspiring. For miles, all that meets the eye are loping hills of ochre and brown, striations of faint green from the vegetation clinging to life here. These are explored on two fronts, either the north or the south rim of which the north is less well-explored. Here, the temperatures have been sent off-kilter with Bright Angel Point being the wettest and coldest to sweltering heat at the foot of the monument. In faded shades of red and sudden layers of startling oranges and yellows, the Painted Desert as seen from Point Imperial is a playground for the paintbrush, resembling a portrait inked onto canvas. The more convenient South Spine is best crossed by car down the scenic Hermit Road riding on the edge of road skirting the mountain.