Edwin D. (Edwin Dinwiddie) McKee

For more than 50 years, Edwin Dinwiddie McKee devoted himself to the geology and natural history of the Grand Canyon region. Archival and memorial sources describe him as a longtime student of the canyon who began working at Grand Canyon National Park in 1927, served as park naturalist from 1929 to 1940, and later became a leading expert on the area's geology and sedimentary rocks.

McKee wrote both scientific studies and accessible books for wider audiences. He is especially associated with Ancient Landscapes of the Grand Canyon Region, a work that introduced many readers to the geological story of Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Petrified Forest, and the Painted Desert. His career also included research and museum work connected with the Museum of Northern Arizona and major geological publications on the Colorado River and Grand Canyon region.

What makes his work memorable is the breadth of his curiosity. He was not only a geologist, but also a naturalist interested in the living landscape around the canyon, and that wider view gave his writing warmth as well as authority. Even decades later, he is remembered as one of the key interpreters of the Grand Canyon for both scientists and the public.