Foz de Colorado roundtrip

2008/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia
• Hidrologia

The forerunner of the grand canyon excavated by the Colorado River seems to be 55 million years ago, and in the opposite direction it seems to have been excavated by a river. Researchers at the University of Colorado believe that 55 million years ago he was one of the pioneers of the eastern part of the current foz. We have worked with a relatively new dating technique, analyzing the degree of uranium and isotope helium of mineral apatite. The results indicate that the Colorado plateau rose 80 million years ago due to geological forces, and later a river began digging the canyon. Several tributaries also did their job. About 6 million years ago, the Colorado River took the current path and shaped the canyon by drilling a canyon about 2,000 meters deep. There is, however, data that Colorado's participation began 20 million years ago.