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The Grand Canyon is located in a desert in the USA. It is a very large and deep canyon containing many layers of rock. Sometime in the past, movements in the Earth’s crust lifted these layers up. The Grand Canyon is now 1.6 km deep in parts. The Colorado River runs through the bottom of the canyon. See the picture below of the Grand Canyon taken from its south rim. Several different layers of rock can be seen in the walls of the canyon.
Question 1
About five million people visit the Grand Canyon national park every year. There is concern about the damage that is being caused to the park by so many visitors. Can the following questions be answered by scientific investigation? Circle ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ for each question.
Question 2
The temperature in the Grand Canyon ranges from below 0 °C to over 40 °C. Although it is a desert area, cracks in the rocks sometimes contain water. How do these temperature changes and the water in rock cracks help to speed up the breakdown of rocks?
A. Freezing water dissolves warm rocks.
B. Water cements rocks together.
C. Ice smoothes the surface of rocks.
D. Freezing water expands in the rock cracks.
Question 3
There are many fossils of marine animals, such as clams, fish and corals, in the Limestone A layer of the Grand Canyon. What happened millions of years ago that explains why such fossils are found there?
A. In ancient times, people brought seafood to the area from the ocean.
B. Oceans were once much rougher and sea life washed inland on giant waves.
C. An ocean covered this area at that time and then receded later.
D. Some sea animals once lived on land before migrating to the sea.
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