The Physics
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Depth of the Grand Canyon

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Bibliographic Entry Result
(w/surrounding text)
Strahler, Arthur. The Earth Sciences, Second Edition. New York: Home Library Press: 492. [diagram] 1500 m
Gibson, Lay. World Book (2006 ed. Vol. 8). Chicago: World Book Cooperation: 306. "It is about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) deep." 1600 m
Huntroon, Peter. Geology of Grand Canyon, North Arizona (with Colorado River guides). Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union. 1989: T115/315: 72. "The Paleozoic rocks in the Grand Canyon are about a mile (1.6km) thick." 1600 m
Columbia University Press, The Sculptured Earth. Great Britain: Oxford University Press, 1959: 101. "From our vantage point we are looking down about 1 mile." 1600 m

The Grand Canyon is located in the northern region of Arizona. This is one of the world's natural wonders. Erosion from the Colorado River formed the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River remained at the same elevation as the land mass rose causing the river to down cut into the land forming the Grand Canyon. Also, the Colorado River has frequent flash flooding which causes even more erosion. Besides the erosion by the Colorado River, in colder months water seeps into rocks and freezes. The weathering causes rocks to break off the the canyon walls. Seismic activity also contributes to the canyon's formation.

The Grand Canyon has various depths and the average depth is about 1600 meters (or about one mile). The Grand Canyon is about 446 kilometers (or about 277 miles) in length and has a width that spans between 0.5 to 29 kilometers (or about 0.25 to 18 miles). The Canyon Walls are made up of different layers of rocks each dating back to different eras millions of years ago.

The Grand Canyon has two different rims (North and South) with two slightly different environments. The North Rim is at a higher elevation than the South rim about 400 meters. The temperatures on the North rim are generally lower than that of the South rim due to the elevation difference. Also, the North rim has heavier snowfalls during the winter months. The bottom of the gorge can have a completely different climate than the ground above because of the elevation difference.

Allen Ma -- 2006