The Canyon Name Game

Many international visitors wonder how it came to be that many major land formations in the Canyon are named after Asian religious deities. The task of naming the buttes, mesas, and temples was left to early geologists, artists, and mapmakers. Principal among these was Clarence Edward Dutton, a geologist and student of world religions. During his ambitious Grand Canyon geologic expedition of 1880-1881, Dutton researched his seminal work, "The Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District, with Atlas." While mapping out the Canyon from the lofty North Rim, he dubbed a few of the mountainous landforms to the east of his position Brahma Temple, Vishnu Temple and Shiva Temple (the "trimurti" in the Hindu pantheon of gods). Those who followed Dutton carried on the tradition, and titles that encompassed Greek and Roman mythology as well as Shakespearean characters were assigned. Given that Grand Canyon has been declared a "World Heritage Site" by the United Nations, the eclectic naming of the Canyon's famous pinnacles seems only fitting. See a few of these majestic landforms by clicking this link: http://www.grandcanyonprints.com/pages/gcgallery_2.htm