Canyons formed in five months. In the five months following the eruption two canyons were formed by mud and pyroclastic flows, establishing drainages for the 1.5 x 2.0 mile crater. The primary drainage, Step Canyon, is up to 700 deep. To its east is Loowit Canyon. Both canyons cut through 100 of solid rock.
Creeks flow through each canyon.
The typical evolutionary explanation is that a creek slowly forms a canyon over vast ages. Textbooks say the most spectacular canyon in the world, the Grand Canyon, was formed by stream erosion over a hundred million years. Badlands formed in five days. Badlands topography is found in the Southwest and in South Dakota. It occurs where loose material has been eroded in areas of rock structures, leaving a jagged but picturesque landscape.