Capitalize "The" in "The Grand Canyon" — It's a Proper Noun

Yes, capitalize "The" when writing "The Grand Canyon."

Why

• Official name: "Grand Canyon" is a proper noun — specific, unique geographic feature
• Convention: For named geographic features with "The" as part of the formal name, capitalize "The": The Grand Canyon, The Hague, The Bronx, The Vatican, The Netherlands
• Style guides agree: AP, Chicago, MLA, APA, USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)

Examples

• ✅ Correct: "We visited The Grand Canyon last summer."
• ✅ Correct: "The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long."
• ❌ Incorrect: "We visited the Grand Canyon last summer." (unless "the" is not part of the name in your style — but major guides say it is)

Edge Cases

• Generic use: "The canyon was beautiful" — lowercase (common noun)
• Adjectival: "Grand Canyon National Park" — "The" not part of park name
• Headlines/lists: May omit "The" for brevity ("Grand Canyon sees record visitation")

Other "The" Geographic Names

Capitalize "The" for: The White House, The Pentagon, The Mall (DC), The Loop (Chicago), The Dalles, The Villages, The Hamptons — when "The" is conventional part of the proper name.

When in doubt: check USGS GNIS (geonames.usgs.gov) — the authoritative U.S. geographic names database.