New Evidence Suggests Dinosaurs Never Saw the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon and dinosaurs both have a lot in common, believe it or not. Both are unimaginably huge, both can be dangerous, and both have been contained in parks – the Grand Canyon within the Grand Canyon National Park and dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and Jurassic World. Would the dinosaurs brought to life by those films have had the chance to see the Grand Canyon?

To this day, experts aren’t completely certain. Estimates of when the canyon was formed vary wildly with some theories suggesting that the Canyon is over 70 million years old and others proclaiming that the canyon is only 6 million years old. Each side has its evidence, and if the canyon was, in fact, 70 million years old, dinosaurs would’ve had ample opportunity to engage in quality American sightseeing, but new evidence suggests that the former estimate is much closer to the truth.

Experts conducting a comparison of the canyon’s rock layers have discovered that the western section of the canyon, home to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, couldn’t be more than 12 million years old. The crucial information was found near the Grand Wash Cliffs, where researchers from Arizona State University noted that the cliffs were actually caused by shifting tectonic plates and then eroded into the smoother rock walls we see now. Knowing that, it’s easy to infer that the sharper sides of the canyon were formed much earlier. Why? Because if they were 12 million years old or older, they would’ve been eroded and lost their sharpness.

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