Canyons Book

Foreword     ix
Preface     xi
Acknowledgments     xiii
Introduction     xv
Origin of the Landform: Canyons     1
Setting the Stage: Tectonic Activity     2
Cooperative Effects of Rocks, Water, and Tectonic Activity     3
Effects of Rain and Climate on Canyons     6
The Influence of Rock Layers     10
Submarine Canyons     10
Ten Canyons     11
The Grand Canyon, Northwestern Arizona, the United States     13
A Framework for Understanding Uplift     15
Deposition and Removal of Mesozoic Sediments     18
Effects of Human-Made Dams     19
Interactions of Plants, Water, and the Sun     20
History of the Colorado River     20
Steep Canyon Walls and Meanders of Rivers     22
Recent Incision, Lava Flows, and Lava Dams     23
Climate in the Present Day     27
Early Prehistory of Northwestern Arizona     27
The Columbia River Gorge, Northern Oregon and Southern Washington, the United States     30
Origin of the Columbia Plateau     32
Scablands and Cataclysmic Flooding     35
Sites and Characteristics of the Eruptions     37
Linear Vents and Focal Points of Eruption     39
Early Versions of Columbia River Gorge     39
Turbulent Flow, Laminar Flow, and Intracanyon Flows     40
The Bridal Veil Channel     42
Joints, Columns, and Layering Patterns in Lava     43
The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, Hubei Province and Sichuan Province, Southern China     46
Geological History of the Area     47
Development of the Sichuan and Jianghan Basins     50
Layers of Jurassic and Triassic Rocks     52
Broader Context of the Doming and Volcanic Activity     55
Incision of the Three Gorges     57
Terraces and Cliffs in the Walls of the Gorges     58
The Tibetan Plateau and the Path of the Yangtze River     59
Crustal Thickening, Lithospheric Thickening, and Uplift of Plateaus     60
Changing the Direction of the Middle Yangtze     60
Recent History of Climate Changes     61
Effects of Vegetation     61
Seasonal Rainfall, River Channels, and Desert Formation     62
Karst Formations and the Three Gorges Reservoir     62
Geological Effects of the Reservoir     63
Peonera Canyon, Aragon Province, Northeastern Spain     65
Early History of Northeastern Spain     67
Formation of the Pyrenean Range and Ebro Basin     68
Relative Elevation of the Ebro Basin     70
River Flow and the Valencia Trough     70
Flexural Uplift and Intermontane Basins     71
Interactions of Climate Changes and Tectonic Forces     72
Alluvial Fans, Immature Drainage, and Denudation of the Pyrenees     73
Geothermal Activity and Thermal Springs     75
Slot Canyons or Karstlike Canyons?     75
Geothermal Activity, Slot Canyons, and Guara Limestone     76
Details of Geothermal Formations     78
Potential Interactions between Rivers and Thermal Springs     80
Windjana Gorge, The Napier Range, Northwestern Australia     83
Fault Systems and Uplift in the Canning Basin     88
Devonian Fossils and a Mass-Extinction Event     88
Terraced Structures and Cycles of Uplift     89
Vertical Layers and Tectonically Driven Uplift     93
Calcite and Aragonite in Oceanic Carbonate Factories     93
Present-Day Climate     94
Interactions of Vegetation with Drainage Pathways     94
Tufa Dams, Weathering, and Seasonal Rainfall     95
Vegetation, Seasonal Drainage, and the Lennard River      95
Seasonal Rainfall and Gully Headcut Retreat     96
Monterey Canyon, Monterey Bay, Central California, the United States     98
Features of Monterey Bay     100
The Monterey Fan and Alluvial Channels     101
Structural Features of the Canyon and Submarine Fan     103
Fault Systems and Topography of Monterey Canyon     103
Interactions of Faults, Sediments, and Marine Life     105
Sediment Movement, Steep Slopes, and Marine Life     105
Layers of Sediments in the Canyon Walls     106
Incision of Channels and Terraces in the Canyon     107
Transport of Sediments through Monterey Canyon     107
High-Energy Features of Plumes     108
Interactions of Sediments from Multiple Sources     110
Seasonal Flushing Events     111
Wave-Cut Platforms, Marine Terraces, and Uplift     111
Zion Canyon, Southwestern Utah, the United States     113
Interactions of River Water and Groundwater     115
Red Iron Oxide in Utah and on Mars     116
The Sevier Foreland Basin and Cordilleran Arc     117
Tectonic History of Southwestern Utah     117
Zion Canyon and Uplift of the Colorado Plateau     118
Fault Systems, Uplift, and Drainage     119
The Laramide Orogeny and Bleached Sandstone     120
Relevance to the Timing of Incision     123
Other Layers of Sedimentary Rocks     123
Fish River Canyon, Namibian Highland, Southern Namibia     125
The Fish River and the Climate of Namibia     127
The Namib Desert and Antarctic Sea Ice     130
Subtropical Deserts and Atmospheric Convection Currents     131
Sedimentary Rock Layers in the Canyon Walls     132
Early Development of the Nama Basin     132
Subdivisions of the Nama Basin     133
Extension, Rifting, and the South Atlantic Ocean     134
Rifting, Uplift, and the Tristan de Cunha Plume     135
Uplift and Escarpment Retreat     136
Chaco Canyon, Northwestern New Mexico, the United States     139
Earlier Incision of the Outer Walls     141
Uplift and Marine Sediments     142
Arroyos, Channel Incision, and Floodplains     143
Naturally Occurring Dams and Alluvial Sediments     144
Dams and Different Types of Sediments     145
Arroyos Sustained by Cycles of Cutting and Filling     147
Layers of Exposed Sediments     148
Changes in Sea Level      149
The Chaco Slope and Tertiary Rocks     149
Magmatic Intrusions and Coal in the San Juan Basin     150
Glaciers, Uplift, and Incision of Terraces and Canyons     151
Faults and Uplift around the San Juan Basin     152
Canyon Diablo and Meteor Crater, Northern Arizona, the United States     154
History of the Mogollon Rim and Canyon Diablo     157
The Impact Event     158
Geological Effects of the Chicxulub Meteor Impact     161
Karst Formations, Joint Faults, and Subsurface Water     161
Tafoni, Karst Formations, and Sapping     163
Impact Basins, Elastic Rebound, and Uplift     165
Inversion and Erosion of Sediments at Meteor Crater     165
Erosion of the Ejected Material     166
Sapping and Theater-Headed Valleys on Mars and Earth     168
Hydrothermal Activity Induced by Impact Events     169
Glossary     171
Books     190
Web Sites     191
Journals     193
Index     199