Why are the colors of the canyon wall so vivid in the grand canyon?

Answer 1

The different colors of the Grand Canyon indicate where the water levels have recently been. The lighter the color, the more recent water levels have been.

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The Different colors of the Grand canyon are due to the different Strata of rocks that been exposed during the 5 to 6 million year history of the Grand Canyon. Some Layers are Granite, some are schist, Some are Limestone.

Answer 2

Pure sandstone is light yellow. Thus, recent sandstone layers in the GC have that color. However, sandstone is also very porous. When water seeps into those layers and meets iron, the result is rust. The more rust, the darker the orange or red in that standstone layer.

Note that limestone is less porous, and thus remains white over millions of years.

Thus, in the GC you'll see white, yellow, orange, and red layers.

Answer 3

There are many layers of different types of rock there. Not all rocks are brown and gray, different kinds can be a wide array of colors like you see in the Grand Canyon.

Answer 4

brownish red