grand canyon?

Question

was the grand canyon caused by weathering? For a project I need a picture of weathering and was wondering if the grand canyon would work?

Answer 1

Skeptic is the closest to the truth.

While weathering certainly helped, the primary force that created the Grand Canyon itself is the erosion of the Colorado River and that is not what most people would consider weathering. However, an even greater and more unique factor in the formation of the Grand Canyon (which nobody above has mentioned yet) is the geologic uplifting of the Colorado Plateau which greatly increased the river's rate of erosion and allowed it to cut deeper and faster than most other rivers do. Without the uplifting, the Grand Canyon would not be what it is today and that uplifting is definitely not a force of weather.

It is true that many characteristics of the canyon walls ARE largely the result of weathering (rain, ice and wind). Places where the canyon walls vary between straight cliffs (like the Redwall Limestone) or more gentle slopes (like the Bright Angel Shale) are mainly the result of how the rock layer resists weathering. So you can definitely talk about weathering in terms of how it shapes the walls of the canyon, but you need to be careful not to give it as a primary factor in the creation of the main canyon itself.

Here are a couple of other major land features in the western US that you might want to consider as they are more closely linked to weather specifically:

Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah) - The famous colorful spires and slot canyons are mostly due to weathering (ice and wind) and the run-off of rain.

Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado) - While the sand material itself was formed by an ancient lake, the modern (and ever changing) shape of the dunes themselves are directly driven by wind patterns - a very unique and direct example of weather effects on large landforms.

Answer 2

The Grand Canyon was caused mostly by weathering and erosion. In essence, it is a very large gorge.
(There is a bit of a difference between weathering and erosion. Weathering is typically caused by factors such as freezing and thawing and the like where as erosion is usually caused by wind, rain, etc. However, the two terms are often used together as they often both work at the same time.)
A gorge is defined as a passageway with two high cliffs on either side, typically carved out by a body of water. The Colorado River runs through the canyon and was responsible, over time, for carving out the majority of the canyon.

Answer 3

No!

The Grand Canyon was caused primarily by erosion, not weathering. Weathering occurs "in situ" (without motion), not by moving water. There are examples of weathering seen in the canyon, but the canyon itself was not caused by it.

If you want to use the Grand Canyon as an example, you have to be very clear what you are pointing out. Specifically, the walls of the canyons have scree slopes at their bases which are caused by water getting into small cracks in the rock, freezing, and forcing off chunks. That is an example of weathering, and will work if you are clear that's what you're pointing out.

Answer 4

Yes. You are right for both parts of your querry.