Which river flows through the Grand Canyon?

The Colorado River flows through the Grand Canyon. It enters the canyon in northern Arizona and cuts through the Colorado Plateau for roughly 277 miles, creating the dramatic gorge seen today.

The river begins in the Rocky Mountains and travels through Colorado, Utah, and Arizona before reaching Mexico and the Gulf of California. In the Grand Canyon, its powerful current has exposed rocks nearly 2 billion years old.

The Colorado is much more than a scenic river: its basin supplies water to roughly 40 million people across the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Dams such as Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam regulate its flow for cities, farms, and electricity.

A common mix-up is the Little Colorado River, which joins the main river inside the canyon. The Grand Canyon itself is named for the enormous landscape carved primarily by the Colorado River.