The Colorado River eroded away the Grand Canyon to give its shape, it started carving the canyon over 5 million years ago. Although we can guess a little bit of the exact pathway of the original river, we can tell that the carving of the path was at a fast, intense pace. There are big drops in the Grand Canyon caused by the river. The Colorado River is one of the most powerful rivers in the world, yet people don't completely know how it carved out the amazing canyon in Arizona's landscape. Because the rock layers are sedimentary, the canyon had no chance against the powerful forces of the Colorado River.
It was carved into four different plateaus of the Colorado Plateau Province. This is a large area with horizontal sedimentary rocks 5000-13,000 above sea level. The climate produced the erosional forms that made the shape of the Grand Canyon. The walls of the canyon suggest that most of the canyon is undisturbed compared to the amount of years it has been around. The crust can date back all the way to 2 bya. |
Before the creation of dams, the original water of the Colorado River was dirty, unusable, and filled with sediment. The climate varied greatly between seasons. Because of this, it did not support much plant or animal life. However, the water is now much cleaner and the climate is more stable, so it is able to support more plant life.