University of Illinois Extension

Major John Wesley Powell

"Grand CanyonThe wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. . . . . Besides the elements of form, there are elements of color, for here the colors of the heavens are rivaled by the colors of the rocks. The rainbow is not more replete with hues. But form and color do not exhaust all the divine qualities of the Grand Canyon. It is the land of music. The river thunders in perpetual roar, swelling floods of music when the storm gods play upon the rocks and fading away in soft and low murmurs when the infinite blue of heaven is unveiled. . . . . "