what kind of rock is the grand canyon made out of?
98019
you can spend years here....zorathustrn granite,mica schists..various volcanics  in  canyons bottem  are  evidence trhat  an old mountain range...some say  as  high as  todays  rockies...[by base measurments]  was  eroded away  by  ice flows.....oceans came  and  left.....on  ariving  plant and  animal life  contribute  fossil remains and  calcite[the  making of limestone]mud stones and shales....the  various  banding  give us  ideas to the duration  andlife  of the times.....basically  the  areas  above the  river  are  sandstones  shales  and  mudstone....but there is  marble and dolomites....explore....thers  gotta  b   pics  on  net  somewhere
995745
Complicted question. They're both made of a variety of rocks. Both contain ophiolitic rocks (oceanic crust), both contain accretionary melanges, made up of sea-floor sediments thrust repeatedly over each other. Both have limestone in them (top of Everest is limestone I think) and both have a load of granites in. Not a complete answer, but that would take forever.\n\nOrogenic belts (Alps, Himalayas, Andes) are complicated regions of deformation. However they have many similarities in the types of rocks they contain.
191382
Yea, the first answer is right.  Among many other factors, soils are made up of parent material that has decomposed.  It mostly depends on what kind of rock they came from.
657423
The answer is Olivine.
672337
Grand Canyon, Arizona, north of Flagstaff.  That's what it's called, although I'm unsure of whether it is an actual city.
758084
The Rock Cycle is a group of changes. Igneous rock can change into sedimentary rock or into metamorphic rock. Sedimentary rock can change into metamorphic rock or into igneous rock. Metamorphic rock can change into igneous or sedimentary rock. \nIgneous rock forms when magma cools and makes crystals. Magma is a hot liquid made of melted minerals. The minerals can form crystals when they cool. Igneous rock can form underground, where the magma cools slowly. Or, igneous rock can form above ground, where the magma cools quickly. \n\n \n\nWhen it pours out on Earth's surface, magma is called lava. Yes, the same liquid rock matter that you see coming out of volcanoes. \n\nOn Earth's surface, wind and water can break rock into pieces. They can also carry rock pieces to another place. Usually, the rock pieces, called sediments, drop from the wind or water to make a layer. The layer can be buried under other layers of sediments. After a long time the sediments can be cemented together to make sedimentary rock. In this way, igneous rock can become sedimentary rock. \n\nAll rock can be heated. But where does the heat come from? Inside Earth there is heat from pressure (push your hands together very hard and feel the heat). There is heat from friction (rub your hands together and feel the heat). There is also heat from radioactive decay (the process that gives us nuclear power plants that make electricity). \n\nSo, what does the heat do to the rock? It bakes the rock.\n\nBaked rock does not melt, but it does change. It forms crystals. If it has crystals already, it forms larger crystals. Because this rock changes, it is called metamorphic. Remember that a caterpillar changes to become a butterfly. That change is called metamorphosis. Metamorphosis can occur in rock when they are heated to 300 to 700 degrees Celsius. \n\nWhen Earth's tectonic plates move around, they produce heat. When they collide, they build mountains and metamorphose (met-ah-MORE-foes) the rock. \n\nThe rock cycle continues. Mountains made of metamorphic rocks can be broken up and washed away by streams. New sediments from these mountains can make new sedimentary rock. \n\nThe rock cycle never stop
450071
I don't know what your teacher has told you, but erosion was a major factor in the formation of the Grand Canyon.  Water flowing through the area over millions of years did an amazing job.
918194
Sedimentary Rocks usually have layers and are made up of pieces of other rocks.  The grain size that makes up the sedimentary rocks can be of any size.  Microscopic as in silt, small as in sandstone and large as in conglomerate.
607690
Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock groups (along with igneous and metamorphic rocks) and is formed in three main ways—by the deposition of the weathered remains of other rocks (known as 'clastic' sedimentary rocks); by the deposition of the results of biogenic activity; and by precipitation from solution. Sedimentary rocks include common types such as chalk, limestone, sandstone, clay and shale. Sedimentary rocks cover 75% of the Earth's surface. Four basic processes are involved in the formation of a clastic sedimentary rock: weathering (erosion), transportation, deposition and compaction.\n\nSedimentary rocks are formed from overburden pressure as particles of sediment are deposited out of air, ice, or water flows carrying the particles in suspension. As sediment deposition builds up, the overburden (or lithostatic) pressure squeezes the sediment into layered solids in a process known as lithification ("rock formation") and the original connate fluids are expelled. The term diagenesis is used to describe all the chemical, physical, and biological changes undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface weathering.\n\nSedimentary rocks contain important information about the history of the Earth. They contain fossils, the preserved remains of ancient plants and animals. The composition of sediments provides us with clues as to the original rock. Differences between successive layers indicate changes to the environment which have occurred over time. Sedimentary rocks can contain fossils because, unlike most igneous and metamorphic rocks, they form at temperatures and pressures that do not destroy fossil remnants.\n\nThe sedimentary rock cover of the continents of the Earth's crust is extensive, but the total contribution of sedimentary rocks is estimated to be only five percent of the total. As such, the sedimentary sequences we see represent only a thin veneer over a crust consisting mainly of igneous and metamorphic rocks. These rocks are very useful for building and architecture.\n\nYou can get more information at following link\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedimentary_rock
1096262
rock, and the depth will be different wherever you decide to dig. there are even deserts that don't have any sand at all, just exposed rock and "normal" earth everywhere.
1151592
Great question!  If you are truly looking for a scientific answer, remember that science must be observable.  During our lifetime, a similar (yet much smaller) catastrophe occurred which provided scientific evidence of how the Grand Canyon was actually formed . . . Mount St. Helens.\n\nAt Mount St. Helens eruption, the entire mountain was rearranged beyond recognition within 9 hours.  Deep canyons were formed within five months.  Layered rock strata formed in three hours.  A river system formed in nine hours.  Sinking logs looked like aged forests within just ten years.  Also, a new model for understanding coal formation was adopted . . . all because of what could be observed at Mount St. Helens eruption.\n\nConsequently, much has been explained about how the Grand Canyon was formed; we no longer have to guess.  The Grand Canyon is a lasting monument of the worldwide flood during the life of Noah in approximately 2458 BC.  Up until the time of Mount St. Helens, geologists never imagined such changes could occur in such a short amount of time.  If you see what occurred at Mount St. Helens in our lifetime (in just a few hours and months), you can easily understand how the Grand Canyon was formed during a worldwide flood with erupting volcanoes, massive landslides and receding waters at rapid speed.  That’s science!\n\n'The catastrophic erosion of Grand Canyon (probably a result of drainage of lakes) was associated with river-terrace gravels, lake sediments, landslide deposits, and lava flows of the post-Flood period,” says Steven A. Austin. (Reference #3)\n\nCheck out the 'Answers in Genesis' website for lots of great information.  Best wishes on your search for truth and quest for knowledge . . . !  May you continue to search as if looking for a hidden treasure . . . !
557773
Are you serious? ;) Well, I'll try to be:\n\n1. Continents are made up mostly of intrusive or plutonic granitic rocks, oceanic crust of extrusive or volcanic basaltic rocks. Example: compare some Himalayan rock with a hardened lava fragment from Mauna Loa in Hawaii.\n\n2. Continental rocks are lighter and of greater volume - they therefore protrude above the oceanic crust, if you dig very deep down they also have deeper roots. The oceanic crust is denser but thinner.\n\n3. Continental rocks are in general much older. This doesn't mean that oceanic rocks didn't exist before, but they get swallowed up (well, buried real deep and remelted, etc.) in trenches, the deepest parts of the oceans.
374572
to brandijo-ALL of it was under water.  That's how limestone, sandstone, and shale form.  Once the layers of rock were there water eroded them on a large scale to form the canyon.  The top layer at grand canyon is called Kaibab limestone and it is about 200 million years old.\n\nAs for strange things about grand canyon...In the canyon use to live a native american tribe called the Anazi(sp?).  They disappeared and no one knows where or why they went.  Their cliff dwellings have been explored and it's like one day they just up and left and didn't bother to pack like they were coming back someday.\n\nAnother strange incident is the story of a newlywed couple that disappeared on their honeymoon.  I can't remember their names or the details, but there is quite a bit about it in the book "Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon"  Really great book.
808478
Whilst still below the surface it is called magma. Rocks which from from magma which has not been extruded at the surface cool more slowly (as they are at greater depth and hence higher temperatures) and thus have time to grow larger crystals before solidifying, producing a coarse-grained texture. These rocks are referred to as 'plutonic' and include gabbros, diorites, and good old granite. (You'll notice gabbros are darker due to their higher content of iron, etc - where as granites are a lighter colour as they are more rich in silica).\n\nLiquid rock at the surface is referred to as lava, and cools to form volcanic rocks such as basalts, andesites, and rhyolites (and obsidian, which is a really cool black volcanic glass). Due to cooling faster, volcanic rocks are quite fine-grained: if you look at a granite, you'll see indiviual crystals of the minerals (those little black or shiny silver-ish specks, or the large-ish pink or white crystals of feldspar) whereas to the naked eye, a volcanic rock such as basalt often looks rather like just a grey rock! (Looks pretty wicked under the polarizing microscope though...!)
657093
Rocks tell the story of the Earth. The Earth is made of rock, from the tallest mountains to the floor of the deepest ocean. Thousands of different types of rocks and minerals have been found on Earth. Most rocks at the Earth's surface are formed from only eight elements (oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium), but these elements are combined in a number of ways to make rocks that are very different.\nRocks are continually changing. Wind and water wear them down and carry bits of rock away; the tiny particles accumulate in a lake or ocean and harden into rock again. The oldest rock that has ever been found is more than 3.9 billion years old. The Earth itself is at least 4.5 billion years old, but rocks from the beginning of Earth's history have changed so much from their original form that they have become new kinds of rock. By studying how rocks form and change, scientists have built a solid understanding of the Earth we live on and its long history.
694236
It depends on what you are looking to find. Big Bend has an olivine granite, which is very rare. The Guadalupe Mountains have the world's largest exposed barrier reef. These are two great geological features in my home state. Almost any national park can claim something unique. Just look at the Grand Canyon with its great sedimentology. The best geology is a relative term.
110099
Not quite what the root of this question is but on it's face, rain erodes rocks. The greatest, and one of the most beautiful, examples is the grand canyon. rain feeds the colorado river which runs thru the canyon carving out of the solid rock over milenia. rain is the most corrosive force on the planet, nothing...nothing can stand against it. eventually water will get thru anything.