How the Grand Canyon Was Formed

• Erosion- water, wind, and ice• Volcanism• Continental Drift

Erosion- ice will harden and make the land expand. When the water comes, it can wash away things or bring more rock and pile it up. Wind will pick up sand, rocks, dirt, and dust.

How the Grand Canyon was formed

Volcanism is when volcanoes erupt and the lava hardens and makes the land pile up.

Continental Drift is when continents move and separate.

• 1.25 billion years ago Sedimentary Bass Formation was formed.

• 1.25-1.1 billion years ago Cardenas Basalts was formed. It is made of basaltic lava flows.

• 1.2 billion years ago the Hakatai Shale was formed. It’s made of shale with some sandstone.

• 1.19 billion years ago the Dox Formation was formed. It is made of mudstone and shale.

• Chuar Group- about 1 billion to 825 million years ago.

• Kwagunt Formation- shale, mudstone, and a little limestone.

• Sixty mile Formation- made of sandstone, with some small sections of shale.

• Galeros Formation- made of interbedded sandstone, limestone and shale.

• 1,050 million years ago the Nankoweap Formation was formed. It is made of coarse- grained sandstone.

• 545 million years ago the Tapeats Sandstone was formed. It was made medium-grained of coarse-grained sandstone.

• About 530 million years ago the Bright Angel Shale was formed. It’s made of mudstone, shale, small sections of sandstone and sandy limestone.

• 515 million years ago the Muav Limestone was formed. It’s made of limestone that is separated by beds of sandstone and shale.

• About 350 million years ago Temple Butte Limestone was formed. It’s made of fresh water limestone.

• 335 million years ago the Redwall Limestone was made. It’s composed of marine limestone dolomites.

• 285 million years ago Supai Formation was formed. It’s composed of shale and small amounts of sandstone and limestone.

• 265 million year ago Hermit shale (made of soft easily eroded shale) was formed.

• 260 million years ago Coconino Sandstone was formed. It is made of pure quartz sand.

• 255 million years ago Toroweap Formation ( made of kaibab limestone) was formed.

• 250 million years ago the Kaibab Limestone was formed. It’s made of kaibab and Coconino Plateaus.

How the Grand Canyon Was formed

Features of the Grand Canyon

Water

Sedimentary Bass Formation

Cardenas Basalts

Hakatai ShaleDox

Formation

Kwagunt Formation

Differences and Similarities of the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon

Differences and Similarities of the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon

Differences

• Shape • One has snow on it the

other doesn’t• Color• One is older than the other• One has more layers

Differences and Similarities of the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon

Similarities

They both are canyons

They both have layers

They’re both natural resources

Both made by erosion

Both carved by water

The root is growing into the crack and pushing the cement

Running water eroding the rock pillar

Waves taking the sand out into the Ocean

Ice frozen into the crack