Download Grand Canyon vs. New River Gorge James Kang Quantitative

Grand Canyon vs. New River Gorge
James Kang
Quantitative Methods in Rocks and Minerals
Steve Teeter
July 16th, 2010
GC vs. NRG 1
Abstract
The Grand Canyon and New River Gorge are similar landscapes located on the opposite
side of United States, yet has completely different environment. Grand Canyon, 277 miles long
with width up to 18 miles and depth up to 1.2 miles, covers Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and
Arizona. New River Gorge is 320 miles long flowing through the Appalachians across North
Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Both places were formed in a similar way about 20
millions of years ago. These two landscapes are very similar in geomorphology, and geography
but has completely opposite climate and therefore ecology.
GC vs. NRG 2
Similar, but different at the same time, the Grand Canyon and the New River Gorge are
paradoxical sights located almost at the opposite ends of the continent. The Grand Canyon is 277
miles long, 15 miles wide, and 1.2 miles deep at its maximum covering Utah, New Mexico,
Arizona, and Colorado. It is one of the major sight in the world with over five million people
visiting each year. On the opposite side of the continent, the New River flows through North
Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The name for this river is very inaccurate because the
New River is one of the world’s oldest rivers. It is about 320 miles long with many tourist
enjoying the river for recreational sports. The Grand Canyon and the New River Gorge have
many differences, but also have a major similarity. They are very similar in their
geomorphology, but different in their geology and climate.
Being one of the oldest river on Earth, the New River was created before the Grand
Canyon, but in a similar ways. First of all, the Grand Canyon was a flat plain about 10 millions
of years ago. However, due the uplift where one part of the land rises while the other part stays
down, the tributaries feeding into the Colorado River met and formed a river through the gorge
(Hamblin 34). By the process of uplifting, two things happened, mass wasting and stream
erosion. Mass wasting is the movement of land materials down a slope due to gravity, and then
these materials are carried away by the river, eroding away the gorge. Stream erosion happens
when the water containing sediments flows through the river (Hamblin 35). As the water flows it
picks up the sediment of the surface. Therefore, the combination of mass wasting and stream
erosion over millions of years created the Grand Canyon which is still eroding away today.
The New River Gorge is a similar land structure as Grand Canyon but was created long
before than the Grand Canyon. Very similar to the geomorphology of the Grand Canyon, the
New River Gorge was formed mainly by a process called entrenched meandering. This process
GC vs. NRG 3
has the same effect as the stream erosion except it shapes the river itself. Entrenched meandering
is when the river erodes away the surface material and deepens the meander and the river as it
flows downward (Kaymoor 10). This process is why the New River has wavier characteristic
than the Grand Canyon.
The earliest Grand Canyon rock record dates back to the Precambrian era. This rock is
the oldest layer of the Grand Canyon and is part of a complex group of igneous and metamorphic
rocks called the Granite Gorge Metamorphic Suite. This rock is located mostly at the inner gorge
and it dates back up to 1.84 billion years. This type of rock was originally on the seafloor, but
due to uplifting, it is now located on the bottom of the canyon.The next layer is mainly from the
Paleozoic age anywhere from 250 million to 550 million years old (Houk 23). The Grand
Canyon is the best sight in the world where the rocks from the Paleozoic era are clearly exposed
and distinguished from the layers above and below. The rocks from this era include sandstones,
hardened mud and some limestone. As the period reached the end of Paleozoic era, the water was
limited so much of the rock from this era were land deposits including accumulated river mud
and sandstones. Because of its dryness, as the wind blew, the sandstone particles accumulated up
to 4 or 5000 feet of sandstones near the Grand Canyon (Houk 35). However, most of the rocks
from this era are now located few miles south of Grand Canyon due to uplifting and erosion.
Although the rock layers are very important to the Grand Canyon’s geology, one of the
most important features of the Grand Canyon is the Colorado River which has a major role in
creating the Grand Canyon. This river stretches for more than 1400 miles from the Rocky
Mountain of Colorado to the Gulf of California. Its main water resource is from the annual snow
melt down from the mountain. However, the water level is slowly declining from the declining
climate of the Grand Canyon area. The river is responsible for the canyon’s existence as it carves
GC vs. NRG 4
and shapes the canyon with its erosive power even today. On the other hand, New River Gorge is
one of the oldest rivers on Earth anywhere from 10 million to 360 million years old. This river’s
location is very unique because it is the only river that flows westward across the Blue Ridge and
the Appalachian.
In shaping the natural landscapes, climate has the most effective role as shown in both
Grand Canyon and New River. Although the formation of the two landscapes are similar, their
environments are completely opposite. First of all the Grand Canyon is located near the western
desert area where the temperature difference of the day and night is extremely high. Therefore,
there are limited species of plants that can survive in the Grand Canyon. Overall, the average
precipitation in the Grand Canyon is about 11 inch per year and during the summer, the
temperature can exceeds 110 degrees (Thornbury 275). The Grand Canyon is divided into
different region, South, North, West, and Central. Usually, the temperature in the central part is
the highest with lesser precipitation, but the northern part has the most precipitation with cooler
temperature of 80s in the summer. In this harsh climate, only small plants like the cactus which
can save up water can survive (Price 28). Because there is no moistures deep underground,
plant’s roots only remain near the ground level making erosion lot easier from unstable ground.
Given these conditions, the only animals that are common in the area are some reptiles.
Opposite of the Grand Canyon’s climate, the New River Gorge has a relatively warm and
mild climate where numerous types of vegetation can flourish. The climate of the New River is
humid and has an average precipitation of 45 inches per year and 30 inches of snow fall. With
this mild climate the plants have their roots settled into the ground, making the erosion process
slower. New River has plenty of water so plants that both require lots of water and little water
can settle. Also, the combination of native and introduced species exist in the river gorge because
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it acts as the migrating corridor for plants since it’s the only river flowing from southeast to
northwest across the Appalachian (Kaymoor 15). Not only plants, but many species of bird travel
through this area between September and January each year. Some of the different kinds of
common trees are red and white oak, red maple, and eastern hemlock. Also, different types of
animals including deer, squirrel, rabbit, and other forest animals live in the area.
Overall, the history of the Grand Canyon and the New River Gorge may be similar, but as
time passed the two landscapes have completely changed. Grand Canyon and New River Gorge
have similar geomorphology, but they have their own distinct geology and climate. Many
Geologists questions and predict the future fate of the Grand Canyon and New River Gorge, will
they continue to erode away and someday disappear?
GC vs. NRG 6
Work Cited
Hamblin, W. K. (2007). Anatomy of the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon: Grand Canyon
Association.
Houk, R. (1996). An Introduction To Grand Canyon Ecology. Grand Canyon: Grand Canyon
Association.
Kaymoor. (1992). development concept plan. New River Gorge , 10-15.
Price, L. G. (1999). An Introduction To Grand Canyon Geology. Grand Canyon: Grand Canyon
Association.
Thornbury, W. D. (1965). Regional Geomorphology of the United States. New York: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
ACE Adventure Center, (2005). New River Gorge National River. Retrieved July 16, 2008, from:
http://www.bridge-day.com/pages/gorgehistory.html