How was the Grand Canyon formed?

The Grand Canyon in Arizona USA is a natural wonder of the world. It is famous around the world for its colourful rocks and majestic spectacle. At certain points, it appears like a magic city of rocks, with temples, towers and castles of dazzling colours all around. Do you know how this great wonder came to be formed?

          The Grand Canyon was formed by erosion of the Colorado River Valley. The mighty force of waters of Colorado River cut out this great gorge in the course of many thousand years. Even now, year by year, the rushing Colorado continues to cut deeper into the bottom of the gorge. This is the deepest gorge anywhere in land.

          The Grand Canyon is about 347.2 kilometres long, upto 20 km. wide and the depth is as much as 2 km at places.

          For years, the Colorado River has slowly cut through the high plateaus of northern Arizona, exposing strata that are millions of years old. These strata are of great interest to geologists because they offer an insight into a long stretch of earth’s history.

          At the bottom of the Canyon, where the Colorado River flows, is an ancient Precambrian rock that contains fossils of primitive algae. The fossils of dinosaurs, elephants, trees and other lives of those times are found in the higher strata. The most recent rocks occur near or at the top of the Canyon. The chains of links of its fossils provide an idea about the evolutionary process.

          Each year, more than 2 million tourists visit the Grand Canyon to wonder at the marvel. In 1919, the United States Government created the Grand Canyon National Park, thus preserving the wealth of the plant and animal life that has become a part of this unique environment.