17 December 2010

Colorado Plateau, stretching and breaking like a putty pancake

The Colorado Plateau, a geological region of about 337,000 square kilometers that covers the Four Corners area of the American southwest, has been rotating ever so slightly around a point in the northern Rocky Mountains for millions of years. Its geological Lazy-Susan-esque action is credited with tearing a rift in the earth’s surface that now holds the waters of the Rio Grande.

But now the Colorado Plateau is doing something different. It appears to be stretching–expanding from east to west–crowding its neighboring landmasses on each side. And in time–many millions of years–the plateau will most likely stretch and break apart like a giant Silly Putty pancake.

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