Tectonic forces near Japan helped fuel the formation of the Grand Canyon
The birth of the Gulf of California, which rifted from Mexico and created the Baja Peninsula 6 million to 8 million years ago, was accelerated by the formation of a double subduction zone more than 6,000 miles (9,600 kilometers) away, near Japan.
Key points
- Not only did the rifting transfer Baja California to the Pacific Plate, but it provided an outlet for the developing Colorado River, which subsequently carved the Grand Canyon on its way to sea level.
- (Image credit: He et al.) This transition at the western end of the Pacific Plate influenced the tectonic forces on the other side of the plate, He, Gianni, Becker and their colleagues found.
- About 10 million to 12 million years ago, a single subduction zone near Japan transitioned into two separate subduction zones.
This reorganization led to a transfer of tectonic force across the Pacific tectonic plate, which, in turn, opened the Gulf of California and ultimately led to the Grand Canyon's formation, according to new research published Oct.
Additional details
- Gianni and Becker's doctoral student at UT Austin, Xiang He, used a global model of plate tectonics, run on supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center on campus, to find out if far-flung forces might provide an explanation.
- But such rifting might have ended with nothing more than the formation of a little valley or low spot if Japan's influence had not kicked in to give the rifting some extra oomph.
- — [with] the change in this pulling stress, Baja California was one of the few places outside the Japan region that were affected," Becker said.
- The initial rift was caused by the subduction of a tectonic plate called the Farallon Plate, located under the West Coast of North America.
- "It's a reminder of the global connectedness of mantle convection and plate tectonics." The Gulf of California is an example of a rift zone, a place where continental crust pulls apart and creates a spot so low that it can be filled by ocean water.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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