Abstract
One of the grandest spectacles in all the world is the Grand Canyon, the king of canyons, the colossus of canyons. This spectacle has inspired many to write of it in superlative terms. Robert Sterling Yard declared that the Grand Canyon is the colossus of canyons, by far the hugest example of stream erosion in all the world. According to Charles Dudley Warner, "It is by common consent the most stupendous spectacle in the world." Early explorers heading for the North suddenly found their northward progress stopped by the impassable canyon.