2 December 2010

How to make a Grand Canyon in seven easy steps

Posted by Callan Bentley

This series of cartoon images ended up on the board yesterday in Historical Geology lab…

E = erosion
D = deposition

Yes, oversimplified: I didn’t include the newest thinking about the subtleties involved in putting together the Brahma and Vishnu Schists and Zoroaster Granite, and I didn’t include mention of faulting (either ancient or more recent). And no mention of magmatism – either of the Cardenas generation, or the more recent spillovers at Lava Falls. And I skipped the two disconformities. Buuuuuuuut… to a first approximation, here’s the simplest possible story of how the Grand Canyon got put together.

What else would you (could you) add to the story of the Grand Canyon over time… throw in events if you care to: you can deposit them in the comments section. Bonus points if you include blackboard drawings…