The Death of a Supercontinent May Have Formed the Grand Canyon Close to a Billion Years Earlier than Once Thought, New Study Reveals

The new study suggests that the Grand Canyon may have formed 800 million years ago, much earlier than previously thought, when the supercontinent Rodinia broke apart. The research team analyzed the interior rock of the Grand Canyon and found evidence of an ancient cliff face that likely formed during the breakup of Rodinia. The findings indicate that the Grand Canyon was exposed to the surface before the current understanding of geological time scales. The study shows that the Colorado River carved out the Grand Canyon over five to six million years, and the researchers used simulations and computer models to reconstruct how the landscape evolved during the breakup of Rodinia. The team claims that the Grand Canyon's basement rocks were progressively brought to the surface as part of an immense escarpment that formed during the breakup of an ancient supercontinent. The study also suggests that the Great Unconformity, a mysterious gap in the rock record, was created by the erosion of the escarpment. The findings indicate that the Grand Canyon and parts of South America and Brazil were once in the same geographic position, and about eight kilometers of rock was ripped away as the escarpment moved inland. The research highlights the influence of the great escarpment on the development of North America, including the flow of rivers, sediment buildup, and flooding patterns. The paper, "Exhumation of Grand Canyon’s Basement Along the Great Escarpment of Laurentia," was published in Geology on August 17, 2026.

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