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The Grand CanyonIf you have ever gone to the Grand Canyon, or even seen photos of it, you can't help but be amazed at the size of it. Stretching more than 250 miles, the canyon averages close to a mile deep and in some places, it's almost 20 miles wide. The Grand Canyon is a great example of how water flowing downhill can steadily wear away at the rock below.
In this particular case, the Colorado River has been actively cutting the main gorge of the canyon for thousands of years. While the river is responsible for cutting the depth of the canyon, wind, water, rock falls and mudslides along the sides of the canyon are responsible for the width. Together, these agents of erosion remove close to a half-million tons of sediment from the canyon every day — and as long as the water keeps flowing, the Grand Canyon will get grander!
