Late in the afternoon on Saturday, August 16, Havasu Canyon, a popular side canyon of the Grand Canyon, flash flooded as a result of heavy, localized, monsoon rains. That evening, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received word that five unmanned rafts had been seen floating down the Colorado River with supplies and personal floatation devices aboard. Initial investigation by the National Park Service (NPS) indicated that these rafts belonged to a single, private boating party of 16 individuals whose itinerary would have put then in the vicinity of Havasu Canyon at the time of the flood. At approximately 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, an NPS helicopter found the party of 16 stranded on a ledge at the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River. The NPS used a short haul rescue technique to move group members, one at a time, from the ledge to the shore of the Colorado River where they could be picked up by helicopter and flown to Hualapai Hilltop. From there, the group was transported by bus to a Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, Arizona To ensure the safety of park visitors, NPS river rangers contacted groups who were still upriver from the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River to inform them of the conditions at the confluence. The group's five rafts and three kayaks were found approximately 35 miles downstream of Havasu Canyon. The boats were secured to shore by other river trips. The River Ranger Crew then towed the boats to Diamond Creek where they were returned to their outfitter. LESS

by Dr. Tyler Nordgren, University of Redlands Astronomer and Volunteer in the National Parks. If you are one of the millions of visitors who live in ever growing urban areas then on a clear, moonless night in the park, you will probably see far more stars in the sky than you have ever seen before. For most visitors to the national parks, a truly dark starry sky is as rare today as the landscape or wildlife that’s brought you to the park in the first place. Our dark skies are due to a number of factors, but the most important is the lack of light pollution caused by upward pointing lights common in more populated areas. Artificial light that’s allowed to shine upward scatters off particles in the air until eventually some of it gets redirected back towards the ground. Eventually, it appears that the sky itself is the source of a uniform glow. This glow is just bright enough to mask the light of increasingly more stars every year, until soon the wonders of the night sky are lost behind artificial daylight of our own creation. The national park that protects the beauty of the landscape below for our enjoyment during the day, also protects the beauty of the night sky above when it’s dark. Once you find a safe, stable place to see the sky, turn off any lights you may have and let your eyes adjust for 10 to 15 minutes. On a clear moonless night about 90 minutes after sunset you will be able to see many more stars than you’ve ever seen before. Starting in June and continuing all summer, these stars are joined in the evening sky by the beauty of the Milky Way, the bright, luminous band of our home galaxy the Milky Way. LESS

This season's birding report for the North and South Rims of Grand Canyon National Park by Ranger-Naturalist, Marker Marshall. Recorded June 11, 2008. Also includes additional wildlife observations on the North Rim, between the lodge area and the N. Kaibab Trail (Duration 8:35) LESS

A visit to Tusayan Ruin and Museum provides a glimpse of Pueblo Indian life some 800 years ago. In this Ranger Minute, Ranger Brian Gatlin provides an introduction to these ancient people who called Grand Canyon "home." How was their life similar to ours today? Tusayan Ruin is located three miles west of Desert View and is open daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. A self-guiding trail leads through the adjacent village remains. LESS

We've got a fun, exciting way to help you remember how the Grand Canyon got here. Today, the Grand Canyon Elementary School third graders are going to help you learn the Grand Canyon Dance, the Grand Canyon "Rockarena." First of all we’re going to start off with the oldest rocks down at the bottom, that hard metamorphic rock. So let’s get squished under heat and pressure. We’re getting metamorphosed, and as we’re getting squished, we’re getting cracked and faulted, and cracked and faulted. And through those cracks we’re getting magma oozing, and it’s flowing then it freezes. On top of all that we get limestone, sandstone, shale; ancient oceans, ancient deserts, ancient beaches, ancient swamps; limestone, sandstone, shale; ancient oceans, ancient deserts, ancient beaches, ancient swamps. And then look out, the North American plate is going to collide with the Pacific plate. Collision…the two plates colliding and we get uplift. One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand, five thousand, six thousand, seven thousand feet into the sky. We have the Colorado Plateau. But then look out, the next powerful force, the Colorado River, and the river cuts down, the walls fall in, the river cuts down, the walls fall in, the river cuts down, the walls fall in, and we end up with ... Grand Canyon! LESS

The Yavapai Point Trailside Museum (now called the Yavapai Observation Station) was created in 1928 for the observation and understanding of Grand Canyon geology. In this Ranger Minute, Ranger Paul Mayer takes us on a virtual tour of the museum's new exhibits and shows some of the interesting features that can been seen through the building's large picture windows. LESS

Mountain lions (Puma concolor, also called cougars or pumas) inhabit the canyons and forests of Grand Canyon National Park and are the region's only remaining large predator. Surprisingly, very little is known about this secretive animal’s behavior, range, and habits. In this Ranger Minute, Park Ranger Lori Rome shares some interesting facts. LESS

In the natural world, when plants and animals benefit each other we call it a symbiotic relationship. Ranger Lori tells, how at Grand Canyon National Park, we have lots of examples, including the relationship between yucca moths and yucca plants, between tassel-eared squirrels and ponderosa pines, and between badgers and coyotes. LESS