There’s a new theory about what helped form one of America’s grandest natural wonders

NewsScienceThere’s a new theory about what helped form one of America’s grandest natural wondersThe key to solving a nearly 7 billion-year-old geological mystery could be microscopicJulia Musto in New York Friday 17 April 2026 17:08 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2959844","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/grand-canyon-colorado-river-arizona-study-b2959844.html","title":"There’s a new theory about what helped form one of America’s grandest natural wonders"}}CloseGrand Canyon: Prehistoric Geology & Petroleum ExplorationSign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in healthGet our free Health Check emailGet our free Health Check emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_Health_Newsletter","regTitle":"Health Check","subscriptionGroup":"health","subscriptionGroupId":"a476a40b-80d6-475e-83ee-36e2c8c6dcb9","type":"health","pathPrefix":["/news/health","/news/science"],"associatedAuthors":["Rebecca Thomas"],"title":"Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health","mobileTitle":"Get our free Health Check email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/healthCheck1_1.png","description":"Behind the headline review on the week in health","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveIndyHealthNews","regSourceSection":"Science","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}Northern Arizona’s Grand Canyon is one of America’s most spectacular natural wonders, st...