Photography is The Most Lethal Activity at Grand Canyon National Park

Photography is reportedly the most lethal recreational activity in the Grand Canyon National Park and accounts for many of the fatal falls at the celebrated U.S. natural landmark.

Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona is one of America’s most distinguished landmarks and popular natural tourist attractions — with 4,733,705 visitors in 2023 alone.

However, there have already been 11 deaths at Grand Canyon National Park so far this year — including three recent fatalities in one week.

At the end of July, officials recovered the body of a North Carolina man 400 feet below the canyon’s rim after he had accidentally fallen from the edge.

Then, on August 1, authorities found the body of a man who had tried to BASE jump from the South Rim of the park. And five days later on August 6, park officials recovered a 20-year-old woman’s body about 150 feet below the rim of the canyon after a multi-day search.

According to a report by NBC News on the recent deaths, National Park Service data revealed that there were 205 fatal falls across the entire park system in the U.S. from 2014 to 2019 — the most recent year for which data is available.

However, at Grand Canyon National Park, 14 people died in fatal falls in the same period.

NBC News reports that according to the data, “photographing” — which accounted for four of those deaths — ranked as the most lethal recreational activity at the park. The National Park Service identified all of the deaths as unintentional.

Maggie Peikon, spokeswoman for the American Hiking Society, tells The New York Times that it is “incredibly sad” to hear of the deaths at the Grand Canyon National Park this year.

Among other factors such as the extreme heat and strength of the Sun in the summer, Peikon says that hikers need to acknowledge that navigating the canyon’s rim throughout the park can be dangerous.

“It’s important to maintain spatial awareness, especially when taking photos or passing other hikers,” Peikon tells The New York Times.

“Always stay on the trail, and if you’re taking a photo, stop for a moment rather than taking it while on the move.”

Last year, a study suggested that taking selfies may pose a “public health problem” amid the near ubiquitous use of smartphones and social media apps.

The researchers identified falls from height as the most common type of selfie-related injury. They said that tourists were most at risk, with the most common cause of death being falling from cliffs or waterfalls while attempting to take a selfie.

While NBC News says that “photographing” appears to have accounted for most of the falls in Grand Canyon National Park between 2014 to 2019, the most common cause of death in the national park is cardiac arrest.

 
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.