Author: Jason Chin
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Year: 2017
Genre: JUV Non-Fiction
Age: Any
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I normally save these books for my "Picture Books I Read This Week" posts but this is a very special book. It was really cool! It got turned in on Friday & I took a few minutes to read it. I have lived in AZ my whole life & never been to the Grand Canyon. I'm thinking a little mini vacation might be in order this fall. This book has beautiful & fun pictures, lots of great info with a summary in the back, & a big fold out picture of the canyon in the back. This is some of the info I learned while reading.
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The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, & more than a mile deep.
The very bottom is called the Inner Gorge & it's the hottest part.
There are 5 different ecological communities in the Canyon:
Boreal Forest: Above 8,200 feet
Ponderosa Pine Forest: 7,000-8,200 feet
Pinyon-Juniper Woodland: 4,000-7,000 feet
Desert Scrub: Below 4,000 feet
Riparian: Along rivers & streams at all elevations
All the creeks & rivers flow into the Colorado River. The river cuts into the Vishnu Basement & Rock which is the bottom most layer of the continent.
There are 13 different rock layers in the Canyon:
Kaibab Formation: 270 million years old
Toroweap Formation: 273 million years old
Coconino Sandstone: 275 million years old
Hermit Formation: 280 million years old
Supai Group: 315-285 million years old
Surprise Canyon Formation: 320 million years old
Redwall Limestone: 340 million years old
Temple Butte Foundation: 385 million years old
Muav Limestone: 505 million years old
Bright Angel Shale: 515 million years old
Tapeats Sandstone: 525 million years old
Grand Canyon Supergroup: 1,200-740 million years old
Vishnu Basement & Rock: 1,840-1,680 million years old
1.2 billion years ago the only living things on Earth were microbes. The mud from the tidal flat in that area hardened & formed the Grand Canyon Supergroup. Because of the sand & mud the Supergroup area has distinct layers.
515 million years ago Bright Angel Shale was under the ocean so today it is full of fossils.
The Redwall Limestone area is full of caves & its home to one of the rarest birds in the world-the California Condor.
The Hermit Foundation used to be home to huge dragonflies with 8 inch wings. 280 million years ago reptiles & amphibians had evolved & the sea had retreated, the whole area was like a swamp.
Then there are cliffs in the Coconino Sandstone.Big horn sheep live here & in the fall they mate.275 million years ago this area was a large sand dune.
The Kaibab Formation is full of fossils from 270 million years ago. When the ocean again covered the land. Shells from miscellaneous sea creatures covered the area & eventually transformed into limestone.
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