The Grand Canyon, what does Uniformitarianism have to do with it???
The Grand Canyon is a vast area of land and mountains that has been eroded by channels of water such as streams and rivers. It has different layers of rock formations that have been eroded over different time expansions. The Grand Canyon has at least nine different layers, all different kinds of rocks. The Tapeats Sandstone is the oldest rock layer, almost 545 million years old!!
ROCK LAYERS !!!!
| The first rock layer is the Kiabab Limestone, 250 million years old |
| The second rock is the Toroweap Formation, 255 million years old |
| The third rock layer is the Coconio Sandstone, 260 million years old |
| The fourth rock layer is the Hermit Shale, 265 million years old |
| The fifth rock layer is the Supai Formation, 285 million years old |
| The sixth rock layer is the Redwall Limestone, 335 million years old |
| The seventh rock layer is the Mauv Limestone, 515 million years old |
| The eighth rock layer is the Bright Angel Shale, 530 million years old |
| The ninth rock layer is the Tapeats Sandstone, 545 million years old |
The Grand Canyon is a form of a Uniformitarianism, which is a slow evolving geological process. The question remains : whether or not the Grand Canyon was formed by either Uniformitarianism, or by Catastrophic events.
Uniformitarianism was first stated by James Hutton in the middle 1700's. It states that the Earth has been at work since it was created, molding and shaping itself with wind and water as forms of EROSION. The one thing that has dazzled scientists is that little rain falls on the Grand Canyon, except for the lake located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. How can water erode away miles of tall solid rock??
In my opinion , I think that the Grand Canyon was formed by both uniformitarianism, and catastrophic events. Earthquakes and water could have shape the Grand Canyon. The earthquakes could have caused the rocks to crack and fall away, while the water could erode the layers forming the smooth curves that you see today.
| 1540-Garcia Lopez De Cardenas | Search for gold, left after three days |
| 1869-John Wesley Powell | First recorded descent of the Colorado River |
The Grand Canyon is an amazing sight, filled with skyscraper mountains and amazing colors. To think that a mere stream of water could erode and shape the Grand Canyon in to what it is today. It is said that in a few hundred years, the Grand Canyon will be completely eroded leaving a few bumps on the ground. Many animals live in the nooks and crannies of the canyon, such as:mule deer, coyotes, chipmunks, and a wide variety of birds and plants.
Some Indians of the Grand Canyon
| Who?? | Where?? | When?? |
| Puebloan | Lived in the four corners of the region | time period- 600 years, A.D. |
| Havasupai | Inner west canyon region | time period- 700 years A.D. |
| Navajo | Largest group, lives in the East of the canyon | time period- since the 15 century to now |
| Hualapai | Lived in the southern area of the Canyon | time period- since AD 300, to now |
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Information found on sites: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grandcanyon/map.html, http://www.kaibab.org/geology/gc_geol.htm, http://www.canyondave.com/Layers.html, http://www.outdoorsunlimited.com/pplants.php http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/info.htm#amer http://www.crystalinks.com/grandcanyon.htmlhttp://www.nps.gov/grca/photos/index.htm
