Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Powell Point - Grand Canyon National Park


Powell Point on the south rim of Grand Canyon is named in honor of Major John Wesley Powell to commemorate his two geographic expeditions down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869 and 1872. This was also the site of the dedication ceremony for the park in 1920.

The Hermit Road shuttle stop for Powell Point is located 2.3 miles west of the transfer station in Grand Canyon Village. It is a stop for both westbound and eastbound shuttle buses. The shuttle is free and runs daily with schedules as often as every 15 minutes during peak periods. The shuttle stop is also only 1.7 miles from the transfer station by way of the Rim Trail.

A 500 foot paved trail leads from the shuttle stop and Rim Trail to the Powell Memorial near the end of the point. Views from here are spectacular, but partially blocked by Hopi Point to the west and Maricopa Point to the east.

We stopped at Powell Point while on our Rim Trail hike during our March 2018 visit to Grand Canyon National Park.

View east to Maricopa Point with Palisades of the Desert (20 miles) on the horizon

View northwest to Tower of Ra (6129'), Mencius Temple (7001'), and Point Sublime (7458')

Restricted area of the former Orphan Lode Mine with Humphreys Peak(12,633') and Kendrick Peak (10,418')

Tower of Set (6012'), Osiris Temple (6613'), and Shiva Temple (7646')

Powell Memorial

50th Anniversary of the park medallion

75th Anniversary of the park medallion

Powell Expedition medallion

View east across the canyon to Cape Royal (7856'), Wotans Throne (7721'),
Vishnu Temple (7533'), and the Palisades of the Desert

Bright Angel Canyon and Sumner Butte (5126') with
Deva Temple (7353'), Brahma Temple (7651'), and Zoroaster Temple (7123') near the horizon

A glimpse of the Colorado River beyond The Battleship

Dana Butte (5031'), Granite Gorge, and Trinity Creek

Granite Gorge (3400' down to 2400') and Tower of Set (6012')

View northwest of The Inferno and Granite Gorge

Park communications equipment

View northwest to Havasupai Point (6741'), Grand Scenic Divide (5667'), and Wheeler Point (6721')

View south from atop the memorial

Entrance to Grand Canyon National Park requires an entry fee of $35 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/grca.

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