Posted on 03/07/2008 12:18:12 PM PST by rosenfan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Grand Canyon, carved out over the eons by rushing river water, began to form 17 million years ago, making it nearly three times older than previously thought, scientists said on Thursday.
The general consensus among geologists had been that the famed natural landmark in Arizona was about 6 million years old.
But now University of New Mexico scientists say it is far older based on their findings using a technique called uranium-lead isotope to date mineral deposits in caves from nine sites in the canyon's walls.
The cave formations provided a record of a dropping water table as the canyon deepened.
The gorge is 277 miles long, 1.1 miles deep at its deepest point and up to 18 miles wide. The Colorado River that runs through it arises in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and flows southwest about 1,400 miles to the Gulf of California.
The scientists found that there is a kind of dual history to the canyon, with the western portion starting to form about 17 million years ago when water from a predecessor to the Colorado River began the slow, inexorable process of eroding the rock, they said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Sorry, didn’t mean to imply that we went to the bottom, just that I wasn’t in an airplane seeing it from 30K feet for a change.
Maybe you can take the kids when they are a bit older to the bottom, could be a good bonding time. It would be memorable!!
Its old as eroded dirt.
So it was 6 million years old +/-12 million?
Maybe they determined it's actually 6,002 years old?
Yes indeed. Used to live in Arizona and enjoyed going there. Of course that was so long ago that it was called “The Fairly Large Canyon”.
Try going on Google Earth and take a tour. Interesting.
Since it changes daily, today’s grand canyon is but a day old.
“If I was younger maybe I would take one of the raft trips.”
Don’t let age stop ya. All you have to do is hang on, enjoy the scenery and ride. The outfitters do everything for you.
Well, the advanced civilization that used to live on Earth left for space about 10,000 years ago - 6,000 years ago was when the liberal Luddites they left behind devolved completely, forgot speech, fire, and the wheel, and had the last of their Section 8 housing fall down around their ears, forcing them out onto the plains as hunter-gatherers...where a (saber-toothed) Darwinian process weeded out the biggest losers and allowed the rest to start civilization over again. ;)
If you accept Genesis as literal, man is only a couple of days younger than the earth.
“I believe that man is around 6000 years old”
“While it looks like it, “that man” in post 8 is supposedly a women”.
But definitely 6000 years old.
Well, if carbon dating is that far off it makes you wonder about all these carbon dating results that is used to prove the evolution theories.
I agree. I’ve seen it about 10 times. On each occasion the experience was just as beautiful as the first.
Regrettably, it seems to be aging much more gracefully than I.
I rowed the Grand Canyon in 2006 with a private party. 22 days on the river. Ran the biggest rapids in the country. Explored the side canyons. An Experience of a life time.
Typical pseudo-science: refer to everything in terms of massive numbers (hundreds of thousands to billions) of years and even being off by millions means nothing. Sounds like the same "science" that swore we'd found a new human-like "hobbit" species just a few years ago. haha
Pass some of that popcorn over here . . . this b.s. science discussion should be interesting.
Might be the dirtiest post I've ever read here at FR... "I want to take her again...maybe go to the bottom...see the north rim"
The Grand Canyon cost so much to dig that the National Park Service still charges admission in order to pay off the debt.
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