The Grand Canyon Is Old

For being just a big hole in the ground (as awesome as it may be), the Grand Canyon sure has been getting itself in the news lately. America’s greatest natural wonder is currently being flooded to the tune of 300,000 gallons per second in order to restore its ecosystem. And, as it turns out, the canyon is a lot older than people actually thought. How old? Well, hella.

Park rangers are instructed to tell them that the canyon has been carved by the Colorado River for the past 5 million or 6 million years. The National Park Service’s Web site, under Frequently Asked Questions, notes that the rocks exposed by the canyon are up to 2 billion years old, and then adds: “The Canyon itself — an erosional feature — has formed only in the past five or six million years. Geologically speaking, Grand Canyon is very young.”

That might need revision. The canyon is more like 17 million years old, according to a new study published online today by the journal Science.

Pretty banal bit of news? Maybe. But at least it’s not another post about puppy tossers.

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