Reverse: On top, "GRAND CANYON". In the center, a view of the Grand Canyon. At the bottom, “RF” for “French Republic”.

Obverse: In the center, the name and logo of UNESCO, the face value, the year of issue, and a representation of the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. Along the rim, "Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'education, la science et la culture" for "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization".

The Grand Canyon is among the earth's greatest ongoing geological spectacles. About 65 million years ago in the earth's shifting, a huge area of land was lifted a mile and a half above sea level, forming what is now the Colorado Plateau. For the last 5-6 million years, the Colorado River has been slowly carving its way down through the many layers of rock. The river and its tributaries, together with the erosive forces of rain, snow, heat and cold, have formed a spectacular gorge one-mile deep and at some points 18 miles across. The colorful strata of the canyon walls reveal the rock formations of the earth's evolution from nearly 2 billion years ago.