Grand Canyon
In this paper part one will discuss the Geologic processes that have formed and shaped the landscape of the Grand Canyon. It will discus how the canyon was formed, the age of the canyon, and its present development. It will also, in part two, include the impact that Thomas Moran had on the developing of The Yellowstone National Park by the wonderful paintings and sketches that he drew. Without him the Park may not have been approved. It will also discuss the love that he grew for the colors and the landscape. No one really knows the geological process that formed the Grand Canyon. Geologists feel that a number of processes may have formed the Canyon. Geologists think that the major factors that formed the Grand Canyon are water and wind. Manny people don't understand how water can have such an impact considering the Grand Canyon is located in a desert. The soil in the Grand Canyon is baked by the sun. It becomes very hard and cannot absorb water. When it rains the water tends to come down in torrents. The plants that grow in the canyon have very shallow root systems so they can grab as much water as possible on the rare occasions when it does rain. When you have plants that have very shall
In, 1871, a U.S. Geological survey was led by Dr. Hayden. This trip gave Moran a chance to travel to the Yellowstone region for himself. As a painter, he new that this would be a life changing events for him, but he had no idea the affect it would have on the history of American parks. Moran went through the Yellowstone Park from July to august in 1871. He seemed to be captivated by the yellow, orange, and red glow of the dramatic landscape. The erosion of the canon has slowed down tremendously because it has finally reached down to granite. The granite is so hard that the amount of force there used to be cannot erode away like it did in the past. Another reason the canyon is not eroding as much is due to the weather patterns that we face in today's environment there are very few instances where the canyon encounters floods. This has slowed the process of erosion to the canyon also. There are no dams located in the canyon, but there are several dams bordering the canyon. The Glen Canyon dam is located at the upper end of the canyon. This dam regulates how much water flows into the canyon. The Hoover Dam is located at the lower end of the canyon. The hover dam regulates how fast the river flows and the level of the river. These manmade dams are another reason for the slowing down of the erosion of the canyon. ow roots, they are very easy to be washed away when it rains. Now you have lots of water and no place for it to go, but down to the Over time fourteen layers of rock have been eroded away. Layers were largely worn away over the course of millions of years. The layers of rock that are showing to day are two billion years old. Every layer of rock that is eroded away brings us to a new era in the history of the world. Geologists are able to study fossils and stones from millions and billions of years past, with out the hassle of having to dig. Sixty five million years ago the surface of the Grand Canyon was level. The area of the Grand Canyon bulged upwards from internal pressure. The geological term for this is upwraping; this process is still going on today. As the plateau gradually rose, shallow rivers that ran across the area of the canyon began to flow more swiftly. Thomas Moran made eight more trips to the Grand Canyon between 1871 and 1892. He made some of the best oil and watercolors sketches that remain as a primary record, of the region today. His paintings became so popular that he was called T. Yellowstone Moran. Finally he added a Y. to his name.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2068
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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