Essay On Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon was once a part of a continental collision about 1.7 billion years ago when volcanic islands collided in the south west of America, where the North American plate is now. Mountain building occurred about 75 million years ago when the uplift of almost 2 miles in the region, (called a Laramide orogeny event) started and created the Colorado Plateau.
The rocks in the Grand Canyon were igneous or sedimentary rocks before the collision of tectonic plates. The collision pushed the plates under the earths crusts. The rocks recrystallized under high temperature and pressure. Some rocks then were folded due to ductile pressure.
Most common metamorphic rocks found in Grand Canyons are quartzite, schists, gneiss, phyllite, marble, and slate. The Vishnu Schist formed from metamorphosed sedimentary rocks. During the phase of Vischnu schist being formed, it went through metamorphism and then faulting lead to a partial rifting of the continent. The collision expanded the continent, expanded the crust’s thickness and created the Mazatzal Mountains, which is in the Grand Canyon region …show more content…
Brahma and Rama Schists that were formed from lava that underwent heat and pressure (metamorphic) and then recrystallized. These schists are at the bottom of the canyon in the Inner Gorge. The inner gorge has a significant amount of metamorphic rocks.
The gneiss is a metamorphism of an igneous rock but can be from granites or diorites. The gneiss in the Grand Canyon formed from magma rose that had resulted from the collision of plates and spread into the Granite Gorge and cooled to form Zoroaster Granite. It then metamorphosed into gneiss. The Elves Chasm is the oldest rock in the Grand Canyon. It may be a part of older continental crust. There are small amounts of Orthoamphibole - bearing gneiss within Granite
The rocks in the Grand Canyon were igneous or sedimentary rocks before the collision of tectonic plates. The collision pushed the plates under the earths crusts. The rocks recrystallized under high temperature and pressure. Some rocks then were folded due to ductile pressure.
Most common metamorphic rocks found in Grand Canyons are quartzite, schists, gneiss, phyllite, marble, and slate. The Vishnu Schist formed from metamorphosed sedimentary rocks. During the phase of Vischnu schist being formed, it went through metamorphism and then faulting lead to a partial rifting of the continent. The collision expanded the continent, expanded the crust’s thickness and created the Mazatzal Mountains, which is in the Grand Canyon region …show more content…
Brahma and Rama Schists that were formed from lava that underwent heat and pressure (metamorphic) and then recrystallized. These schists are at the bottom of the canyon in the Inner Gorge. The inner gorge has a significant amount of metamorphic rocks.
The gneiss is a metamorphism of an igneous rock but can be from granites or diorites. The gneiss in the Grand Canyon formed from magma rose that had resulted from the collision of plates and spread into the Granite Gorge and cooled to form Zoroaster Granite. It then metamorphosed into gneiss. The Elves Chasm is the oldest rock in the Grand Canyon. It may be a part of older continental crust. There are small amounts of Orthoamphibole - bearing gneiss within Granite