How The Grand Canyon Was Formed

The grand canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world but debates on how the grand canyon was formed are still raging. The most famous theory on the formation of the grand canyon is erosion attributed to the Colorado river that cuts across the canyon. This process began about five to six million years ago but continues to sculpt the canyon until today.

The rock walls of the canyon embed some deep secrets on how the grand canyon was formed. Researching scientists from the Institute of Creation Research are still at awe upon finding out that some rock formations in the canyon gaps in age approximately 1 billion years.

The rock walls of the canyon reveal records of the Paleozoic Era between 550-250 million years ago. Remnants of rocks from the Precambrian era, about 2 billion years, are scattered at the bottom where the Colorado River rushes. Some of these rocks are much older than the canyon itself. Remarkably, rock evidences from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic era, between 250 million years to present are nowhere to be found. Either erosion brought them to other lands or they were never deposited in the first place.

How the grand canyon was formed is probably the most famous query for traveling tourists upon seeing its breathtaking view. The canyon stretches 277 miles in a semi-arid region of Northeastern Arizona, and rises steeply between 1,500 to 2,700 miles above sea level, one mile deep (up to the river), and approximately 29 km wide.

The theory on how the grand canyon was formed is based much on the rock structures, mesas, towering buttes, and valleys within its gorges. The Colorado Plateau and the Rocky Mountains in the course of millions of years went through geologic lift up that further steeped the slopes and amplified the erosion strength of the Colorado River.

Other geologic factors that could have contributed to how the grand canyon was formed is the elevated position of the Kaibab Plateau, referred to as the north rim, which is 365 meters higher than the Coconino Plateau, which encompasses the south rim. This allowed the Colorado River to form tributary streams, carving valleys across its entire length. Erosion's power can be best witnessed in parts of the canyon that most heavily receives annual precipitation as in the case of the north rim.

The irregular shape of the canyon is primarily due to the various rocks that respond to erosion differently – some easily erode than others – while the varied hues on the canyon walls come from mineral deposits embedded in the rocks.