GEOL 109 Gigapan Worksheet 6
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School
Brigham Young University, Idaho *
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Course
109
Subject
Geology
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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2
Uploaded by EarlFishPerson965
GEOL 109 Gigapan Worksheet
Grand Canyon
First-Look Analysis
Complete the following analysis without doing any research:
Geological Features
: list and describe at least three geological features you see in the
one image you selected.
canyon
river
mesa
Root Cause Analysis
: what processes do you
think caused these features? ●
Canyon Formation: Erosion by the Colorado River over millions of years.
●
Watershed: The river gathers water from a large area of land, known as its watershed or drainage basin, through runoff and groundwater flow.
●
Flat Top (Mesa) Formation: Differential erosion
where softer layers eroded faster than harder layers, possibly influenced by weathering, water flow, and tectonic activity.
Notes:
●
We ask you to explain the geological features before doing research because studies have shown that thinking about something before studying it helps you to understand it better and retain what you learn better.
Complete the In-Depth Analysis on the second page below.
In-Depth Analysis
Geological Feature 1
: list the Geological features you listed above. canyon
Root Cause Analysis
: what processes do geologists believe caused these features? Please go at least three layers deep in your explanation.
Use words a 9-year-old would understand.
Erosion: Imagine the canyon like a big, slow-
motion carving project. Over millions of years, the Colorado River has been like a giant chisel, slowly cutting away at the rock layers, making the canyon deeper and deeper.
Weathering: This is like nature's way of breaking down rocks. The sun, wind,
and rain all play a part in wearing away the rock, making it easier for the river to carve out the canyon.
Time: Think of time as the artist behind this masterpiece. It's taken a really, really long time for the river and weather to work together to create such a huge and amazing canyon.
Geological Feature 2
: list river
the Geological features you listed above. Root Cause Analysis
: what processes do geologists believe caused these features? Please go at least three layers deep in your explanation.
Use words a 9-year-old would understand.
Rain and Snow: When it rains or snows in the mountains, water collects and starts to flow downhill.
This water forms tiny streams, which join together to become bigger and bigger, eventually forming a river.
Gravity: Just like how toys roll downhill, water also flows downhill because of gravity. It pulls the water along, making it flow in a certain direction, carving out the river's path over time.
Erosion: As the river flows,
it picks up tiny pieces of rock and soil. These tiny pieces act like sandpaper, slowly wearing away at the ground beneath it, deepening and widening the river's channel.
Geological Feature 3
: list the Geological features you listed above. mesa
Root Cause Analysis
: what processes do geologists believe caused these features? Please go at least three layers deep in your explanation.
Use words a 9-year-old would understand.
Layers of Rock: Picture the
mesa like a big layer cake made of different types of rocks. Some layers are soft like sponge cake, and others are hard like chocolate chips. Over time,
these layers were formed by sediments settling down
and hardening.
Erosion: Just like how you might lick the frosting off the top of a cake, erosion slowly wears away at the layers of rock. Wind, rain, and ice all work together to slowly chip away at the softer layers, leaving behind the hard layers on top.
●
Differential Erosion: This is a big word, but it just means that some parts of the mesa erode faster than others because they're made of different kinds of rock. Softer rocks wear away quicker, leaving behind the flat top of the mesa made of harder rocks, like a delicious piece of cake with the frosting licked off, leaving the cake underneath.
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