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Glite Dictionary
Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

1.3
A large park in northern Arizona that contains the Grand Canyon
  • proper noun
  • /ɡrænd ˈkæn.jən ˈnæʃ.ən.əl pɑrk/
translation icon : Parque Nacional del Gran Cañón
  • Educators often bring students to Grand Canyon National Park to learn about its natural history and ecology.
  • Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Examples

  • Before making the journey to Grand Canyon National Park, tourists probably have seen the canyon in movies, in television commercials, in magazine photographs, or on Internet websites.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Many tourists visit Grand Canyon National Park every year to hike along its stunning trails.

  • I appreciate the research assistance of Debra Gust and the staff of the Lake Country Discovery Museum, as well as Colleen Hyde and Kim Besom at the Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Grand Canyon National Park's administrative past and development history influenced Curt Teich's selective and fragmentary representations of the canyon's environment.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The postcards feature the mid-twentieth-century Grand Canyon National Park, a protected area that differed in both administrative boundaries and spatial context from the 1,904-square-mile contemporary version of the park (NPS 2012).

    Academic text (2012)

  • Grand Canyon National Park is known for its breathtaking views and unique geological features.

Surface Forms

Grand Canyon National Park main

Morphology

grand + canyon + national + park

The phrase names a nationally designated park for a large, magnificent canyon and this meaning is directly built from 'grand' (magnificent) + 'canyon' (steep valley) + 'national' (state-level) + 'park' (protected recreational area). This is a straightforward, compositional place-name following common cross-linguistic patterns (no idiomatic or metaphorical shift), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Grand Canyon National Park is named after the very large canyon that the Colorado River carved over many years. The word Grand shows it is very big, Canyon means a deep valley, and the National Park was created 'to protect' this famous place.