Geology of National Parks

Hike to Phantom Ranch
South Kaibab Trail and Bright Angel Trail
Grand Canyon National Park - Geology Tour

Start a 3D image tour by clicking here. See tour in standard photo images See images in a thumbnail image gallery Return to the Geology of National Parks main page
Click here to start a virtual hike down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, and the return
up to the South Rim along the Bright Angel Trail. Click on any of the images to continue to the
next page in the linked series of web pages. Or, see a thumbnail gallery.


Click here to see more tours of Grand Canyon National Park.

Map of Grand Canyon National Park
Click on the map select a park or tour area.

Click on images for a larger view.
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Top of Kaibab Trail   Kaibab Limestone   Kaibab Limestone
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Slope in Toroweap Formation   Kaibab Trail in Torweap Fm.   Coconino Sandstone
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Mule riders on Kaibab Trail   Kaibab Trail with O'neill Butte   Mule train on Kaibab Trail
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Dead pine tree - Cedar Ridge   Pinyon pines with O'neill Butte   Supai Formation--O'niell Butte
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Supai Formation (slope)   Cremation Canyon   Boulder from Supai Formation
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Pipe Spring Canyon view   Century plants on Kaibab Trail   Kaibab Trail
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Top of Redwall Limestone   First Colorado River view   Redwall Limestone and trail
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Switchbacks on Kaibab Trail   Temple Butte & Muav Fms.   Muav/Bright Angel Contact
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Tonto Platform/Inner Gorge   Upper Bright Angel Shale   Shinumo Quartzite
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Bright Angel Shale   Inner Gorge near The Tipoff   Looking down from The Tipoff
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Inner Gorge & Colorado River   Kaibab Trail bridge   Kaibab Trail bridge tunnel
Click on image for larger view   Kaibab Trail footbridge   Bright Angel Pueblo
Kaibab Trail bridge tunnel   Kaibab Trail footbridge   Bright Angel Pueblo
Bright Angel Creek gravelbar   Click on image for larger view   Click on image for larger view
Bright Angel Creek gravel bar   Phantom Ranch trails   Phantom Ranch cabins
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Bright Angel Creek   Phantom Ranch area   Bright Angel Creek canyon
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Turkeys at Phantom Ranch   Vishnu Schist outcrop   Inner Gorge bridges
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Inner Gorge (Inner Gorge)   Pipe Creek   Falls in Pipe Creek Canyon
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Faulted Shinumo Quartzite   Bright Angel Trail   Waterfalls in granite
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Century plant/North Rim view   Garden Creek   Tapeats Sandstone
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Bright Angel Trail   Tapeats Sandstone   Garden Creek & Tapeats Ss.
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Indian Gardens area   Indian Gardens area   Garden Creek gravel bar
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Garden Creek Canyon   Top of Redwall Limestone   Supai, Hermit & Coconino
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Sandstone in Supai Group   Top of Supai Group   Garden Creek Canyon
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"The Battleship" (Butte)   Coconino Sandstone cliffs   Tunnel in Coconino Sandstone
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Kaibab, Toroweap & Coconino   Ice on the Bright Angel Trail   Tunnel in Kaibab Limestone

Click here to see more geology tours of National Parks.

Click here to learn more about Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov/grca).

See NPS information about the South Kaibab Trail, Phantom Ranch, and the Bright Angel Trail.

Click here to see historic 3D photography taken by the John Wesley Powell Survey of 1871-72.

Click here to learn about the USGS mapping expedition of 1923 through the Grand Canyon.

Click here to learn more about sedimentary rock formations exposed in the Grand Canyon.

Click here to see selected references.

USGS Geologic maps of the Grand Canyon include:


Billingsley, G. H., 2000, Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon 30' by 60' Quadrangle, Coconino and Mohave Counties, Northwestern Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigation Series I-2688. Available on-line at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i-2688/.

Billingsley, G. H. and Wellmeyer, J. L., 2004, Geologic Map of the Mount Trumbull 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Mohave and Coconino Counties, Northwestern Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigation Series I-2766. Available on-line at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i-2766/.

Special thanks to NPS geologist, Tim Connors, for his knowledge and assistance on this strenuous hiking experience.

3D glasses

This website contains images produced from stereo photo pairs that were manipulated into anaglyphs (3-D images). You will need red-and-cyan stereo viewing glasses to get the 3-D visual effects. Photography on this website was taken in spring 2006.


This page is <https://gotbooks.miracosta.edu/gonp/grca/phantom_ranch/>
Last modified Mon 2/11/2010