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The Colorado River

Decent Essays
We usually think of the Grand Canyon in terms of its rocks, and the story and history that they can contain, spanning as far back as half of the Earth’s age. There is more to this canyon though than the rocks, as it is still active as a forever changing landform, due to the power of running water. The Colorado River has carved out the Grand Canyon in just the last nine million years. In fact, the river itself carries about half a million tons of sediment through the Grand Canyon each and every day. There are a number of different river types that will be talked about, and how exactly they have effected their environment and made changes in the landscapes. Valleys were once thought to have formed independently as water flowed down a channel within the area of the valley. What is now known, is that all rivers (located within valleys), combined with the power of mass wasting, have formed the valleys by picking up sediment from the…show more content…
A delta is when the water is calm from this loss of velocity, and the sediment can build up creating multiple dams and small river channels, in which the water and sediment can switch between which river channel has a greater flow. This switch can vary though, as these stronger flows on different branch-channels can last for long periods of time. Rivers have had enormous amounts of destructive power. They have caused mass floods that have damaged towns and cities surrounding them, and have also caused damage to families, taking lives. With all of this damage that has been caused by rivers though, they have given back, with thriving life and people surrounding them for their beauty and resources. One of the most important things they have done is carve out landscapes, which create legacies to their existence. In fact, these rivers are the largest formers of the Earth’s modern landscape (even in places where it does not seem
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