Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
| Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone | ||
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 Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone |
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| location | Wyoming (USA) | |
| Waters | Yellowstone River | |
| Mountains | Rocky mountains | |
| Geographical location | 44 ° 53 ′ N , 110 ° 23 ′ W | |
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| Type | Canyon | |
| length | 32 km | |
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is a V-shaped canyon in Yellowstone National Park through which the Yellowstone River flows. The canyon is between 250 m and 400 m deep and its width is between 500 m and 1,300 m. It extends for approximately 20 miles between the village of Tower-Roosevelt and a point south of Canyon Village. The yellow, orange to red colors of the rock on the slopes are typical. They stem from geothermally discolored iron deposits in the rock.
Emergence
Towards the end of the last Ice Age, around 14,000 to 18,000 years ago, ice dams were created at what is now Yellowstone Lake . As soon as these melted, a large amount of water escaped and in a very short time cut the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone through erosion into the volcanic rock, which consists predominantly of rhyolite , with older tuff being exposed in some places . Since then, the canyon has been further eroded by the Yellowstone River. Ranging from 10,000 to 14,000 years old, it's one of the park's younger attractions.
water falls
There are three large waterfalls in the canyon: the Upper and Lower Falls and in between the lesser-known Crystal Falls . The Upper Falls are 33.2 meters high. The Lower Falls are almost twice as high as Niagara Falls at 94 m . The Crystal Falls are located at the confluence of Cascade Creek and Yellowstone River. Their height of fall is 39 m. All three falls are near Canyon Village , at the southern end of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Artist Point
Various viewpoints offer a beautiful view of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The most famous viewpoint is the Artist Point. It got the name because the painter Thomas Moran painted various pictures there during the Hayden expedition of 1871 .
Web links
- Canyon Village area on the website of the National Park Service (Engl.)
- yellowstoneparknet.com: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerald M. Richmond, Geology and evolution of the Grand canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming . In: Geological Society of America, Centennial Field Guide - Rocky Mountain Section , Volume 2. Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, 1987, ISBN 0-8137-5406-2 , pages 155-160