And the mechanics of headwater erosion and stream capture don't work. Huntoon said he participated in a field trip to the Bidahochi area that found not lacustrine deposits but fluvial, fine-grained clastics integrated with ash beds. Consequently, there wasn't flowing water on the plateau. It looked more like the Mojave of today, with basins collecting sediments, and streams flowing in but not out. But even Huntoon needs some kind of pre-existing canyon to get the Colorado across the Kaibab, as well as the Uinkaret and Shivwits plateaus.
Evidence implies there had to be something there.
Geologists who believe in a young Grand Canyon have a small window of time for cutting as much as 6,000 feet of rock from the Canyon's rim to its floor. At maximum stratigraphic depth, the Colorado cuts almost 1,800 feet into Proterozoic basement. Fast Cut to the Finish Studies presented at the symposium indicated such quick carving could be possible, according to Young. I'm having to rethink this whole thing. To help solve the Canyon's mysteries, some researchers are looking to new methods of dating.