Top 10 Most Visited National Parks in the US

2. Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon, one of the natural wonders of the world, is the 2nd most visited national park in the United States in 2016 with more than 5.9 million visitors. Grand Canyon locates in the state of Arizona, US with 277 miles of river (446 km), some areas up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and a mile (1.6 km) deep. Grand Canyon offers spectacular view of unique combinations of geologic color and erosion forms. The exposed geologic strata - layer upon layer of limestone - rise over a mile above the river, representing one of the most complete records of geological history that can be seen anywhere in the world. Geologic formations such as gneiss and schist found at the bottom of the Canyon date back 1,800 million years. Grand Canyon is considered to be semi-arid dessert but with different elevations along the 8,000-foot gradient, there are distinct habitats found in the entire park. Colorado River runs through the canyon. There are riparian vegetation and sandy beaches near the river. Above the river corridor is a dessert scrub community with a wide variety of cacti & other dessert species. Areas with elevation above 6,200 feet are homes to ponderosa pines and spruce-fir forest. Grand Canyon overwhelms our senses and continues to draw more and more visitors to travel into this great chasm and unfold the geological events, which formed this magnificent wonder million years ago.