Upload
amanda-barker
View
214
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The Geology of the Grand Canyon
Hannah Avery and Sarah Lowe
General Info about the Canyon
• Located in Northwestern Arizona
• Covers 1,218,375 acres of land
• Deepest point 6,000 feet
• Widest point 15 miles
How the Canyon Formed
• No one knows for sure but…– It is believed that…
• It is a combination of many things– Erosion (By water and ice)– Wind– Colorado River course– Volcanism– Continental Drift– Variations in Earth’s Orbit
Erosion by Water
• Located in desert so soil is less absorbent causing flash floods
• Flash floods can move automobiles, buses, and small houses– “If automobiles, buses, and small houses are in
the way then it will take them too.”
Erosion by Ice
• Water seeps into cracks and freezes, the freezing water expands, expanding the cracks.
• Expansion causes rocks to be pushed into the canyon causing Rock Falls
• Rock Falls often take out hiking trails
Layers of the Grand Canyon
Other Facts
• Roots of the ancient mountain range that lies at the base of the canyon was formed approximately 1.7 billion years ago
• Climate is considered semi-arid
• Colors are due to different amounts of minerals in the rocks
References
• http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/grca/index.cfm
• http://www.kaibab.org/geology/gc_geol.htm#when
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_the_Grand_Canyon_area
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/canyon/sfeature/geology.html