GRAND CANYON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Grand Canyon mean? 

• GRAND CANYON (noun)
  The noun GRAND CANYON has 1 sense:

1. the enormous gorge of the Colorado River in northern Arizona

  Familiarity information: GRAND CANYON used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRAND CANYON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The enormous gorge of the Colorado River in northern Arizona

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Instance hypernyms:

gorge (a deep ravine (usually with a river running through it))

Holonyms ("Grand Canyon" is a part of...):

Arizona; AZ; Grand Canyon State (a state in southwestern United States; site of the Grand Canyon)

Colorado Plateau (a large plateau to the south and west of the Rocky Mountains; abuts mountains on the north and east and ends in an escarpment overlooking lowlands to the south and west; the Grand Canyon is carved out of the southwestern corner)

 Context examples 

Four times as long as the Grand Canyon, and twice as deep in places, these faults and canyons indicate a titanic geological upheaval in Charon’s past.

(Pluto’s Big Moon Charon Reveals a Colorful and Violent History, NASA)

As far as New Horizons scientists can tell, Argo’s total length is approximately 430 miles (700 kilometers) long – for comparison, Arizona’s Grand Canyon is 280 miles (450 kilometers) long.

(A ‘Super Grand Canyon’ on Pluto’s Moon Charon, NASA)

About 250 miles (400 kilometers) wide and 2 miles (3 kilometers) deep, Mercury’s great valley is smaller than Mars’ Valles Marineris, but larger than North America’s Grand Canyon and wider and deeper than the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.

(‘Great Valley’ Found on Mercury, NASA)

Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, is home to an unusual canyon system that’s far longer and deeper than the Grand Canyon.

(A ‘Super Grand Canyon’ on Pluto’s Moon Charon, NASA)

Based on this and other images taken around the same time, New Horizons scientists estimate Argo Chasma to be as deep as 5.5 miles (9 kilometers), which is more than five times the depth of the Grand Canyon.

(A ‘Super Grand Canyon’ on Pluto’s Moon Charon, NASA)