The Grand Canyon Dragon Map

Geologist Wayne Ranney guest curates this exhibition about an iconic geology map first published by the Museum of Northern Arizona in 1976. The map presents a wealth of detailed information about Grand Canyon’s geology on a single page with such beauty that it became the best-selling geology map of all time. Until the Grand Canyon’s geology was mapped in color on a single sheet, nobody knew the canyon contained a hidden dragon. That sinuous shape carved by the Colorado River only emerged as a team of geologists painstakingly drew out and colored in the canyon’s rock layers. Once “The Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona,” was published, people spotted a shape reminiscent of a Chinese dragon and the map became known as the Blue Dragon Map. It was not the first map of the Grand Canyon, nor the last, but is the most famous.

The exhibition explores the origin, heritage, and ongoing use of this iconic map, alongside samples from the impressive geology that makes it such a wonder.