A lost mega-cliff may explain the Grand Canyon’s missing billion years
Geologists have discovered that a massive ancient cliff system, formed 800 million years ago during the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia, likely exposed the deep rocks now visible in the Grand Canyon. This finding helps explain the 'Great Unconformity,' a mysterious billion-year gap in the geological record.
Why it matters
Understanding these ancient geological processes provides critical insight into Earth's history and the formation of its most iconic landscapes.
Scientists have uncovered evidence that an enormous ancient cliff system may have helped expose the deepest rocks of the Grand Canyon nearly a billion years before the Colorado River began carving the landscape seen today.
Led by researchers at the University of Southampton in the UK, the new study suggests that a vast "great escarpment" formed about 800 million years ago as the supercontinent Rodinia broke apart.
These towering cliffs may have reached roughly a kilometer in height and extended for thousands of kilometers along western North America. Over time, erosion along this immense rocky boundary removed huge amounts of material, eventually exposing ancient crystalline basement rocks that can now be seen in the Grand Canyon in southern Arizona.
A Billion Years Missing From the Grand Canyon
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