Formation of the Grand Canyon

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Formation of the Grand Canyon

• By Jeff Bratman
• And
• Daniel Gallenson

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History in Rocks

• An exposed rock layer of any type is called an
  out crop
• The bottom and oldest rock in the canyon is the
  Vishnu schist
• The Tapeats sandstone, the Bright Angel shale,
  and the Muav limestone
• The Mississippian period is represented in the
  Redwall limestone
• The Supai formation was deposited during the
  Pennsylvanian Period
• The Permian Period is represented by several
  deposits- the Hermit shale, the Coconino
  sandstone, the Toroweap formation, and the Kaibab
  limestone

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History in Fossils

• Limestone and shale, for example often contain
  fossils of marine organisms such as clams,
  fishes, and corals.
• The bright angel shale contains many trilobites,
  marine invertebrates, and brachiopods.
• The fossils show that a distinctive group of
  plants and animals lived during each period of
  layers
• Analysis of the fossils found in lower, older
  rock layers though the younger, upper simple
  suggest a sequence of events. These fossils
  indicate that early/simple life-forms gradually
  either become extinct or changed into more
  complex life forms

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Formation of the Grand Canyon

• The Grand Canyon must have begun as a small
  valley cut by the Colorado River. Slowly the
  land was uplifted to form a high plateau.
• This new uplifted region is now called the
  Colorado Plateau.
• The Colorado has probably taken 10 million years
  erode through the slowly rising plateau.

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Vocabulary

• Vishnu Schist The bottom and the oldest rock
  layer
• Tapeats Sandstone Rock layer of the Grand Canyon
  deposited during the Cambrian Period.
• Bright Angel Shale Same definition as Tapeats
  Sandstone.
• Muav Limestone Same definition
• Redwall limestone Rock layer of the Grand Canyon
  deposited during the Mississippian Period.
• Supai Formation Rock layers of the Grand Canyon
  deposited during the Pennsylvanian Period.

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Vocabulary (cont.)

• Hermit Shale, Coconino Sandstone, Toroweap
  formation, and Kaibab Limestone Rock layers of
  the Grand Canyon deposited during the Permian
  Period

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Facts and Statistics

• The shortest distance by road between the
  South Rim and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
  is 215 miles.
• The Grand Canyon is 1,904 square miles. For
  comparison, the size of the English county of
  Northumberland is 1,944 square miles.
• Depth One mile. The world's tallest skyscrapers
  would fit inside the inner gorge of the canyon.