Canyon Landforms

Canyon Landforms A canyon landform is a deep and narrow valley with high walls that typically extends for miles. Erosion that takes hundreds of thousand of years is the cause of this forming landform. The steep walls are made from the rocks we all know as sandstone and granite. There are also canyons that are underwater which are known to the systematic community as submarine types. Some of these landforms are thousands of feet under their surrounding landscape which give canyons depth. The widths of the canyons may vary between miles or feet. In rare occurrences, the light of the sun cannot reach to the ground of the canyon due to how deep it is.

The wind and water usually produces canyons during a very long and tedious process of erosion by water and wind. Wind does play a big part of forming canyon landforms. Water though, is the most important reason of forming canyon landforms. Water scours and cuts away the layers of rock and forms the floor of the canyon over hundreds of years. Canyons are the results of millions of years of dispensation to give the existing shape. Canyon landforms have larger depth than the width. Canyon landforms are narrow and deep valley carved by a swift-moving river and the walls of the canyon landforms could be V-shaped or smooth. These impressive landforms are formed in the limestone rock areas as the limestone is to a certain extent soluble. Gradual geologic uplift may end up in massive rivers running in the canyons. These streams are referred to as entrenched rivers. Rivers that are in canyons have a tough time changing their direction. In the northwestern US there are 2 examples of geologic uplift rivers; they are the Colorado River and the Snake River. Two other kinds of canyon landforms are found around the planet are the plateau and slot types. The most common ways canyons are formed are through erosion. Two of the most famed types of plateaus and erosion landforms are the Grand Canyon located in mostly in Arizona and the Black Canyon is Colorado. A river is flowing on the floor of these canyons which erodes and shapes them. Many of the Grand Canyon has walls that are high and steep. Canyon Landforms