{"id":534,"date":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=534"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","slug":"new-research-shows-prehistoric-lake-contributed-to-the-birth-of-the-grand-canyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=534","title":{"rendered":"New research shows prehistoric lake contributed to the birth of the Grand Canyon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New research shows prehistoric lake contributed to the birth of the Grand Canyon
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Lake spillover events helped form today\u2019s Colorado River system<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/h3>\n
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Read the Grand Canyon origin study<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n By Communications and Publishing<\/a>
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\n April 16, 2026
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RESTON, Va.\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 A new collaborative study led by the U.S. Geological Survey provides strong evidence that the Grand Canyon was carved out by spillover flooding from ancient Lake Bidahochi, a large lake fed by the ancestral Colorado River.\u00a0 The lake\u2019s eventual spillover likely helped establish the course of the Colorado River.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A team of scientists from the USGS, the Arizona Geological Survey, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix analyzed mineral grains preserved in ancient lake deposits east of the canyon to test a long-standing hypothesis: that a Colorado River\u2013fed lake once existed in the region and played a direct role in shaping one of America\u2019s most iconic landscapes. By comparing the ages of these grains to those in known early Colorado River sediments, researchers traced exactly when Colorado River material first reached the lake, which was in the present-day Bidahochi Basin east of Flagstaff, Arizona, primarily on Navajo land.\u00a0 The findings were published in Science.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBy tracing the mineral grains in these lake deposits, we can see exactly when the Colorado River reached this basin,\u201d said Ryan Crow, USGS geologist and a lead author. \u201cThe evidence points clearly to a Colorado River\u2013fed lake that could have spilled westward, establishing the river\u2019s course through what is now the Grand Canyon. It\u2019s a simple but powerful explanation for how the Colorado River system took shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bidahochi Basin, dry bed of a prehistoric lake east of Flagstaff, Arizona. \u00a0Research shows Lake Bidahochi played an important role in forming the Grand Canyon and shaping the Colorado River System. Aerial view from a drone over Navajo land. Anyone wishing to conduct unmanned aerial vehicle flights on the Navajo Nation must first apply for and receive a permit from the Navajo Department of Transportation. Photo by Brian Gootee, Arizona Geological Survey.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Scientific discussion about the formation of the Grand Canyon began in 1869, with the expedition led by John Wesley Powell, a pioneering geologist and future director of the U.S. Geological Survey. Powell navigated the Colorado River by boat, advanced early theories about the canyon\u2019s origins and western drainage systems and demonstrated the national need for a dedicated science agency\u2014work that ultimately contributed to the creation and mission of the USGS in 1879.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the eve of our nation\u2019s 250th anniversary, we are proud to publish research that advances a geologic discussion begun by our second director, John Wesley Powell,\u201d said Ned Mamula, USGS Director. \u201cThese findings about the Bidahochi Basin\u2019s role in forming the Grand Canyon deepen our understanding of how the Colorado River system evolved and exemplify the geologic science Powell championed. Collaborating with our partners at the Arizona Geological Survey and at UCLA and Paradise Valley Community College produced these rich findings.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Map showing location of prehistoric Lake Bidahochi, and potential, approximate locations of Colorado inflow and spillover that helped shape the Grand Canyon and Colorado River System.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Beginning about 6.6 million years ago, the sand within these lake deposits shows a clear and distinct Colorado River signature. Two million or so years later, evidence indicates the river system had fully integrated, connecting headwaters in the Rockies all the way to the Pacific through the Gulf of California, thus carving what is now the Grand Canyon along the way.<\/p>\n

The study also adds nuance to decades of scientific debate by showing that multiple natural processes\u2014including lake spillover, river incision, and changes in regional topography\u2014likely worked together to shape the Grand Canyon\u2019s modern form.<\/p>\n

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“Chasm of the Colorado”By Thomas Moran (1837-1926), 1873-1874Oil on canvas mounted on aluminum, 84 3\/8” x 144 3\/4″U.S. Department of the Interior MuseumINTR 03000<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Painter Thomas Moran accompanied J.W. Powell on an 1873 expedition to the Grand Canyon.\u00a0 Courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior Museum, Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

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Source: National News Release<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: National News Release<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RESTON, Va. \u2014 A new collaborative study led by the U.S. Geological Survey provides strong evidence that the Grand Canyon was carved out by spillover flooding from ancient Lake Bidahochi, a large lake fed by the ancestral Colorado River.  The lake\u2019s eventual spillover likely helped establish the course of the Colorado River.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-u-s-geological-survey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":724,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions\/724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}