How Was The Grand Canyon Formed

Last Updated on August 1, 2021 by

The Grand Canyon in Arizona is a natural wonder of the world. At some points, it appears like a magic city of rock, with temples, towers, and castles of dazzling colors.

One of the most amazing things about it is that the Grand Canyon was made by a river. The waters of the Colorado River cut out this great gorge in the course of thousands of years. When you consider that it was cut out of solid rock in many places, you begin to appreciate the tremendous force of these waters. Even now, year by year, the rushing Colorado continues to cut deeper into the bottom of the gorge.

In certain places, the gone of the Grand Canyon is more than a mile deep, and it is from 4 to 18 miles wide. As the river cut deep into the plateau to form the Canyon, it laid bare on the rock walls of the Canyon the story of hundreds of millions of years of the earth’s history.

Down at the bottom of the gorge, beside the river, ancient crystalline rock is exposed. This is the buried remnant of an ancient mountain range that was folded back on itself and worn down by weather and water. The rise and fall of this mountain range millions of years ago is revealed only by the erosion of the Grand Canyon.

On the base of this buried mountain range are rest beds of quartzite, sandstone, and limestone. They were formed over the years as ocean waters from the east and from the west flooded the section, and a whole mountain range rose and disappeared. Proof of the fact that great seas once rushed over these rocks is to be found in the fossils that turn up here. There are fossil remains of seaweed, seashells, and fish.

Was The Grand Canyon Formed By An Earthquake?

However, the erosional processes that originally formed the Grand Canyon are still active today as the Colorado River and its tributaries slowly cut deeper into the canyon. … About 45 earthquakes occurred in or near the Grand Canyon during the 1900s.

What was found in Grand Canyon?

There is a lot we don’t know about the Grand Canyon. For instance, some scientists say the Grand Canyon was not formed by the Colorado River but rather by a collapsed lake or ocean. Others believe the canyon was carved by glaciers. Still, there is a lot about the Grand Canyon that we do know. For example, scientists have “decided” that the Grand Canyon was carved by the Colorado River. However, there are more questions about the Grand Canyon than we have answers for. The Grand Canyon is named so for its grand size and can be found in the Canadian state of Arizona. The canyon is over 277 miles long and up to 18 miles wide at some points. Its walls are over 600 feet tall and the formation is considered to be one.