A controversial new study thinks that the Grand Canyon may have been formed millions of years earlier than thought. The findings fly in the face of long-standing theory (and not just compared to the religious view)!
The traditional scientific view is that the Arizona canyon is 6 million years old, and the Colorado River is responsible for carving it. This new study proposes that the western reaches began forming 17 million years ago (before the river even existed), while the eastern portion formed in just the past 4 million years.
The scientists (Victor Polyak and University of New Mexico colleagues), base their research on clues from caves in the canyon walls. They argue that the traditional timelines based on geologic events are reliable only to about a million years ago. Instead, they’re using a new technique — looking at deposits in the caves. They reason that as the canyon cut deeper, it dropped the surrounding water tables. Specific mineral deposits in the caves then indicate different ages for different parts of the canyon.
Not all scientists agree. Ivo Lucchitta, an Arizona geologist, said he is “outraged”.
Find the whole story at
National Geographic: Grand Canyon Millions of Years Older Than Thought?
Of course, such debates about 6 million vs. 17 million years seem minor compared to the religious argument that the canyon is just a few thousand years old, based on biblical interpretations. Very interesting how people can look at the exact same canyon walls and see such different things!
New York Times: Seeing Creation and Evolution in Grand Canyon
National Park employees say that the Bush administration has forced them to ignore geological evidence, and sell religious books instead.
In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”
Personally, I’ve never understood this literal interpretation of the Bible in dating the earth. Why assume that a “God-day” is the same as a “person-day”? I guess that’s my scientific skepticism showing. 
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Arizona is the Grand Canyon state, and there’s a lot more here, too! From saguaro forests in the desert, to pine forests in the mountains, it’s an amazing place. We do Sedona tours here a few times a year, and it’s simply spectacular.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Sheryl // Mar 28, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Check out the site, canyonministries.com, for more info on geology of the Grand Canyon that supports the Biblical story of the world wide flood….very interesting.
2 Angela // Jun 5, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Now I’ve got to know — if the Grand Canyon was initially formed before the Colorado River existed, how did it form? I’ve always like the theory that it was the same geologic event that killed the dinosaurs but (if I’m remember my prehistoric history and I might not be) I think that the new theory pre-dates that.
3 Brenda // Jun 8, 2008 at 6:14 am
It’s kind of like “which came first, the chicken or the egg”. My bet is on the biblical explanation.
4 Deanna Keahey // Jun 8, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Angela - good question. They say in the article their theory is it started due to slow erosion, but without a river, it’s not clear what would have caused the erosion.
5 Sara // Jun 8, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I don’t like the idea that the Bush administration has the ability to force national parks to ignore scientific information about their park’s history.
6 Lady // Jun 8, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Wow! What an interesting post. I really want to go. Reading your post makes me want to go even more though. It is amazing how two people can look at the same thing and each see something different.
7 Deanna Keahey // Jun 8, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Sara -
I agree with you about the park service not being allowed to talk about the scientific dating evidence. I would think their role should be to help the public understand.
Lady -
You’re right about seeing different things. It goes to show how much of what we “see” is based on what we believe. We see what we expect to see, and filter/interpret everything through our own beliefs.
8 Sally // Jun 9, 2008 at 9:59 am
I don’t see why there would be Christians who have a problem with this. God is eternal - He has always existed, so why is it such a shock to them if something was created 5 million years ago, 17 millions years ago, or 85 million years ago? God created the world, right? So what is the problem? God created science. The science vs. religious debate is so silly. Does anybody really care when the Grand Canyon was created? It’s there - ENJOY GOD’S BEAUTY.
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