How the Canyon Became Grand

August 31, 1998
Don't expect a mere geology lesson from Pyne. Here, the acclaimed environmental writer (Fire on the Rim; The Ice; etc.) and MacArthur Foundation Fellow places America's most notable natural wonder in cultural context. While today we may take the Grand Canyon's splendor for granted, as far back as the 1500s, when the canyon was "discovered" by European explorers, it earned little more than a brief mention in journals. The explanation for this, Pyne reasons, is that there was then no cultural, artistic or monetary tradition or value attached to natural monuments: "Probably no European country was prepared to appreciate a phenomenon like the Canyon." It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the canyon began to become fully appreciated, both for its natural beauty and as a geological phenomenon. The canyon increasingly became the subject of paintings, photographs, travelogues and intense scientific study. A professor of history at Arizona State University, Pyne writes eloquently as he sketches early explorers, scientists, artists and engineers who applied themselves to the study of the canyon and who, in so doing, nurtured our love for it. Anyone interested in the Grand Canyon and the Southwest, or in the evolution of cultural evaluation of the natural world, should cotton to Pyne's first-rate history. Illustrations.