How old is the Grand Canyon estimated to be?

Some scientists believe that the Grand Canyon is 70 million years old. Others contend that the natural wonder is only between five and six million years old. Both are right. Scientists examined rocks from the Grand Canyon with the so-called thermo chronology method.



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Grand Canyon Facts Grand Canyon National Park does not encompass the entire Grand Canyon. Most of it, but there's still plenty left to explore. There's still some confusion about the age of the Grand Canyon (6 million vs 70 million years old), and human beings started interacting with the park about 12,000 years ago.

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The age of the river falls between the rocks determined to be older than the river and those determined to be younger. Through this method, scientists have estimated an age for the river, and thus the canyon through which it flows, of 5-6 million years.

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The Canyon Will Change Its “Clothes” As it becomes warmer and drier, you'll see vegetation that is more classic to those environments: piñon-juniper will shift more into just juniper and maybe some grasses, which is the vegetation zone that falls below it.

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About 12 deaths happen each year at the Grand Canyon, including from natural causes, medical problems, suicide, heat, drowning and traffic crashes. On average, two to three deaths per year are from accidental falls over the rim, park spokeswoman Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski says.

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The Grand Canyon has been carved, over millions of years, as the Colorado River cuts through the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is a large area that was elevated through tectonic uplift millions of years ago. Geologists debate the age of the canyon itself—it may be between 5 million and 70 million years old.

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It is protected by the many laws that have been passed and programs put in place by the government to conserve and restore the natural wonders of the Grand Canyon in order to leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. Park scientists use integrated pest management techniques to eradicate and ...

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Sixty million years ago, the Rocky Mountains and the entire Colorado Plateau, which the Grand Canyon is part of, rose up from tectonic activity. After the top layers of rock (green) eroded away, the Colorado River grew powerful and began to cut its way through the ancient rock, leaving the stunning canyon we see today.

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The rock that makes up the canyon walls is vastly more ancient than the dinosaurs – about a billion years more ancient, in some cases – but the canyon itself probably didn't form until after the dinosaurs were long gone.

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One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon is an unbelievable spectacle of nature. It is a great, huge slash in the surface of the earth - 217 miles long, 4 to 18 miles wide and a mile deep, with the Colorado River flowing at the bottom.

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Despite these strategically located private in-holdings, the vast majority of the Grand Canyon is owned by the federal government, held in trust for the American people and managed by a varied collection of federal agencies. Indian reservations, state land, and private land surround these federal lands.

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People have used and lived in the Grand Canyon continuously for nearly 12,000 years, according to archaeological finds found within the national park. Here, granaries some 1,000 years old or so perch above Nankoweap, along the Colorado River in Marble Canyon.

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Impress Your Friends With These Fun Facts!*
  • We don't really know how old it is. ...
  • Grand Canyon creates its own weather! ...
  • There are no dinosaur bones in the canyon. ...
  • But there are lots of other fossils in the area. ...
  • There's a town down in the canyon. ...
  • We're missing 950 million years worth of rocks!


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It's estimated that there are more than 1,000 caves inside the Grand Canyon, with only 335 documented and even fewer mapped, explored, or inventoried. Today only one cave is open for visitors to explore, and it's called- the Cave of the Domes on Horseshoe Mesa.

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Encompassing an estimated 1,218.37 acres (1,904 square miles), the Canyon is capable of holding 1 – 2 quadrillion gallons of water. Really. If you poured all the river water on Earth into the Grand Canyon, it would still only be about half full.

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The deepest part of the Grand Canyon is 6,000 feet (1,829 meters). The average depth is 1 mile or 5,280 feet (1,609 meters). At the suspension bridge this canyon is 1,053 feet (321 meters) deep. At Artist Point Overlook the canyon is 1,200 feet (366 meters) deep.

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The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Tibet, a region of southwestern China, was formed over millions of years by the Yarlung Zangbo River. This canyon is the deepest in the world—at some points extending more than 5,300 meters (17,490 feet) from top to bottom.

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Geologists date this sandstone to 550 million years ago and explain the folding as a result of pressure from shifting faults underneath. But to Mr. Vail, the folds suggest the Grand Canyon was carved 4,500 years ago by the great global flood described in Genesis as God's punishment for humanity's sin.

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