There are some people who believe the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was created through glaciation
This is the Yellowstone River, the longest undammed river in the continental United States. This majestic river is responsible for the geologic formation we call the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Roughly 14,000-18,000 years ago, as the large glaciers in this area melted off, it created ice dams along Yellowstone Lake. It is important to understand the size of Yellowstone Lake. The average depth today is ~138 feet, with over 12,000,000 acre-feet of water. Yellowstone Lake is considered the largest high elevation lake in North America (>7000’).
As these ice dams melted, they eventually gave way. A catastrophic amount of water was released instantaneously causing the massive V-shaded river valley we see today. Some believe there were likely multiple large flash floods as this last glacial period came to an end. There are some people who believe the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was created through glaciation. However, it is more likely to have been created from the erosion process described above, which created a roughly 20-mile-long canyon.
The canyon itself varies in width from roughly 1,500 to 4,000 feet. It is dramatically steep sided. The canyon depth fluctuates from 800 to 1,200 feet deep. The Yellowstone River is still eroding this landmass today. The Yellowstone River will travel more than 600 miles, meeting up with the Missouri River in North Dakota. This eventually dumps into the Mississippi River which eventually dumps into the Gulf of Mexico.
As you take in the view from the top of the canyon, you start to notice the rock and soil in the canyon is not uniform in color. There are areas of red, orange, and yellow. This area has a volcanic rock called rhyolite. When this area was an active geyser basin, this rhyolite was super-heated causing chemical alterations in the iron compounds. As these rocks oxidize, they create rust colors throughout the canyon. Some people believe the yellows in the canyon are from sulfur, when it is typically the result of the iron present in the rock.
This rhyolite was super-heated causing chemical alterations in the iron compounds
Did you know?
- ~5% of the surface area of Yellowstone National Park is water.
- The Yellowstone River starts in the Absaroka Mountain Range, more specifically Yount Peak.
- There are ~150 named lakes and ~278 named streams in Yellowstone National Park.
- The waterfall in this photo is over 300 feet in height!
- Roughly half of the world’s known geysers are in Yellowstone National Park.
0 Comments