Historical Controversy: Grand Canyon Is As Old As The Dinosaurs – Researchers Suggest

MessageToEagle.com – For more than 150 years, scientists have argued about the age of Grand Canyon.

According to the most widespread theory Grand Canyon is only 6 millions years.

Now a group of scientists have come forward with a new provoking theory suggesting that dinosaurs once lived in Grand Cayon.

This new research pushes back the conventionally accepted date for the formation of the Grand Canyon in Arizona by more than 60 million years.

An analysis of mineral grains from the bottom of the western Grand Canyon indicates it was largely carved out by about 70 million years ago, a time when dinosaurs were around and may have even peeked over the rim, says a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

There have been a number of studies in recent years reporting various ages for the Grand Canyon, said said CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Rebecca Flowers.
The most popular theory places the age of the Grand Canyon at 5 million to 6 million years based on the age of gravel washed downstream by the ancestral Colorado River.
In contrast, a 2008 study published in Science estimated the age of the Grand Canyon to be some 17 million years old after researchers dated mineral deposits inside of caves carved in the canyon walls.

Paleontologists believe dinosaurs were wiped out when a giant asteroid collided with Earth 65 million years ago, resulting in huge clouds of dust that blocked the sun’s rays from reaching Earth’s surface, cooling the planet and killing most plants and animals.

Because of the wide numbers of theories, dates and debates regarding the age of the Grand Canyon, geologists have redoubled their efforts, said Flowers.

“There has been a resurgence of work on this problem over the past few years because we now have some new techniques that allow us to date rocks that we couldn’t date before,” she said.

The helium atoms were locked in the mineral grains as they cooled and moved closer to the surface during the carving of the Grand Canyon, she said.

Temperature variations at shallow levels beneath Earth’s surface are influenced by topography, and the thermal history recorded by the apatite grains allowed the team to infer how much time had passed since there was significant natural excavation of the Grand Canyon, Flowers said.

“Our research implies that the Grand Canyon was directly carved to within a few hundred meters of its modern depth by about 70 million years ago,” said Flowers.

See also:

Controversial Theory Suggests Extremely Intelligent Dinosaurs Rule Other Planets In The Universe

Should Scientists Resurrect Dinosaurs, The Neanderthal Man And Other Extinct Species?

Did “Dark Matter” Or A Star Called Nemesis Kill The Dinosaurs?

Flowers said there is significant controversy among scientists over the age and evolution of the Grand Canyon.
A variety of data suggest that the Grand Canyon had a complicated history, and the entire modern canyon may not have been carved all at the same time. Different canyon segments may have evolved separately before coalescing into what visitors see today.

“If it were simple, I think we would have solved the problem a long time ago,” said Flowers. “But the variety of conflicting information has caused scientists to argue about the age of the Grand Canyon for more than 150 years. I expect that our interpretation that the Grand Canyon formed some 70 million years ago is going to generate a fair amount of controversy, and I hope it will motivate more research to help solve this problem.”

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