Fermi question · Geography

About how many kilometers long is the Grand Canyon along the Colorado River?

Make a fast, defensible estimate before you reveal the reference answer. Think in factors, not exact recall.

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What is your estimate?

kilometers

Use a positive number. Commas and scientific notation are okay.

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Reference answer

Reveal the reference answer

≈ 446 kilometers

Fermi estimates are judged by scale, so a reasonable approximation can still earn a strong score.

One way to estimate it

Start from the commonly cited 277 river miles and convert to kilometers.

  1. River length≈ 277 miles
  2. Kilometers per mile≈ 1.6
  3. Estimate277 × 1.6 ≈ 443 km

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