In-depth information is found on the Grand Canyon National Park website.

Powell Point is another narrow spur along the West Rim Drive, on which is built a granite memorial to John Wesley Powell, erected to commemorate his two groundbreaking explorations of the Colorado River in 1869 and 1872. The point is only a 10-minute walk through the pine woods from Maricopa, past Orphan Mine, so many people hike rather than wait for the next shuttlebus. The vista is similar to that from Maricopa except that more of the canyon to the west is visible, though some is still obscured by the next ridge (Hopi Point). The river is not in view since it flows deep within its inner granite gorge.

Powell Point was chosen as the site for the dedication ceremony of Grand Canyon National Park, in 1920. The overlook is another good location for sunset watching, with fewer people than at Hopi Point, but an easy quarter-mile walk from it. Eastbound shuttlebuses do not stop at Powell Point.

Grand Canyon is considered one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world. Incised by the Colorado River, the canyon is immense, averaging 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 18 miles at its widest. However, the significance of Grand Canyon is not limited to its geology.

The Park contains several major ecosystems. Its great biological diversity can be attributed to the presence of five of the seven life zones and three of the four desert types in North America.

The five life zones represented are the Lower Sonoran, Upper Sonoran, Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian. This is equivalent to traveling from Mexico to Canada.

The Park also serves as an ecological refuge, with relatively undisturbed remnants of dwindling ecosystems (such as boreal forest and desert riparian communities). It is home to numerous rare, endemic (found only at Grand Canyon), and specially protected (threatened or endangered) plant and animal species.

Over 1,500 plant, 355 bird, 89 mammalian, 47 reptile, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species are found in the park.

Many options are available for day hikers. Both the South Rim and the North Rim offer rim trail hikes that have spectacular views of the inner canyon, some on paved trails. Or you can choose to day hike into the canyon. Permits are not required for non-commercial day hikes.