Grand Canyon is the result of a distinct and ordered combination of geologic events. The story begins almost two billion years ago with the formation of the igneous and metamorphic rocks of the inner gorge. Above these old rocks lie layer upon layer of sedimentary rock, each telling a unique part of the environmental history of the Grand Canyon region. The story of uplift certainly begins with plate tectonics and very likely a mountain building episode called the Laramide Orogeny. The Laramide Orogeny began about 70 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era, and lasted until about 40 million years ago in the Cenozoic Era. Numerous normal faults cut across Grand Canyon. Normal faults form in response to extensional tectonics or in other words when a region is being slowly pulled apart, eventually resulting in a landscape such as Nevada’s basin and range.
Mesozoic Era, 70 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era, and lasted until about 40 million years ago Mesozoic Era,|Cenozoic Era.
Mesozoic Era, 70 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era, and lasted until about 40 million years ago Mesozoic Era,|Cenozoic Era.