The Kaibab Suspension Bridge over the Colorado River at the very bottom of Grand Canyon dates from the early 1930s. The construction story is most fascinating as it details, for example, Havasupai tribal members carrying huge lengths of cable down the South Kaibab trail - something like 10 men to a section.

The Bridge carries the trail across the river to the north side and provides access to the Bright Angel campground (NPS) and Phantom Ranch. All supplies for this "developed" area - steaks, beer, toilet paper, etc. - arrive via muletrain.

The color of the Colorado River is worthy of note. This "colored" river (some say "red") derives its Spanish name from the huge amounts of sediment it once carried seaward. Prior to the early 1960s, the river had a deep chocolate brown color tinged with red during massive spring floods. However, once the Glen Canyon Dam (103 mi / 165 km upriver) came online, things changed.

The sediment now falls out into the still waters of Lake Powell behind the dam, and the water released into the river channel is cold (it comes from deep in the lake) and clear. The result is a river which runs emerald green much of the time. Occasionally, water sources below the dam such as the Little Colorado River will flood bringing sediment back to the river and returning the Colorado to a semblance of its natural color.

Once flooding subsides, the river, for a period, will take on this mottled look until the sediment dissipates.

Please read my journal on hiking Grand Canyon. This image is referenced at the end of Section 3.