Lucas Kerner

Professor Yanites
Sedimentary and Stratification
5/11/2015
Arizona Topography
Arizona consists of two regions; the northern region being the Colorado Plateau, and the
southern being a region of alternating basins and ranges aligning in the northwest to southeast
direction. The Colorado Plateau is an area that covers four states including northern Arizona,
northern New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. The characteristics of this area are high desert, deep
canyons, and long tributaries of the Colorado River. In this paper I will be explaining the
formation and development processes of the Colorado plateau and the deep canyons that
reside within.
The deep rooted processes that caused the topographic change of this area can be seen
through the uplift of the plateau. The plateau used to be near sea level. It wasnt until the past
20 mya that the plateau grew to be over 3 kilometers above the sea level through tectonic
movements. Possible theories as to why this was such a sudden uplift are partial removal of
lithospheric mantle, chemical alteration of the lithosphere/ with magma extraction, warming of
heterogeneous lithosphere, or the hot upwelling within the asthenosphere (Rebecca M.
Flowers). The reason as to why there is no certainty for the elevation increase is that there still
is no way to measure the past altitude of an elevated region, only the ability to measure the
elevation when at sea level.
Although the cause for said increase in elevation is unknown, the topography can be
seen through satellite imagery. The topography of the area includes, deep canyons, large
drainage basins, dunes, and elongated mountains that run from southeast to northwest.
There are many different erosional processes that effect the topography of this area.
The erosion processes include water erosion and wind erosion. These erosional factors change
with climate and season. Lake Havasu is greatly affected year round by erosion. During the
flood seasons, flood water transport massive sand material into the lake and Colorado River.
This can be seen by observing the lakes shallow gradient shore line.
The deep canyons were formed throughout time by the Colorado River and the related
tributaries by eroding away the sandstone. These deep canyons include the Grand Canyon of
Arizona. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, 6000 feet deep and up to 18 miles wide. The
canyon is deep due to the constant flow of the River towards the Ocean. The canyons width
and side canyons, are caused by the massive runoffs during great flood times. The sides of the
canyon show many layers and different thicknesses of layers. This is because the weaker layers
erode faster and the harder ones are impacted after longer amounts of time through a process

called differential erosion. Differential erosion is where the softer rocks erode faster causing
the stronger rocks to fall.
A drainage divide can be seen along the mountain located near 3437'41.78"N,
11426'39.26"W. Although a minor drainage divide, the sediment and water produced here can
be seen sloping and fanning out towards both sides of the Colorado Rivers edge. The pattern
seen in this area is that most like a dendritic drainage pattern. Dendritic drainage patterns are
developed land systems where the underlying rock is uniform to resist erosion. These are
consistent throughout the entire Colorado River.
Arizona, being a high desert area, possesses many dunes. The dunes are usually in areas
behind mountains where they are sheltered. They accumulate throughout time as wind blows
the sands into this protected area. The reasons Arizona has so many dunes is because, it has
little to no vegetation, large amounts of wind, and the protected areas behind the mountains.
The dunes are created through three different ways: saltation, creep, and suspension. Saltation
is the act of sand grains bouncing upon one another as the wind blows. Creep is when sands
collide with one another moving slightly. Suspension is the fine grained sands that move high in
the air until later settling to the ground. This is the least common of grain movement. These
dunes are constantly migrating throughout the valleys of the desert.
The mountains of this area are elongated east and west but follow the Colorado River.
They are carved with valleys that run SE to NW all sloping. This is possibly due to wind erosion.
The wind direction of this area is typically from the South East. As shown on the map below, a
large dune deposit is located on the northern point of the line.

NORTH

This picture shows the valleys caused by the NW blowing winds. Each of the adjacent valleys
and mountains show evidence of the wind erosion.
The Colorado Plateau/northern Arizona is a unique geological location. With elevations
ranging from near sea level to 4,000 feet, there is always sediment transport. The area once
created from uplifting plates and volcanic activity have shaped the rocky landscape different
from any area around. Changes occur every year whether it is blown sand or a flash flood. It is

always in danger of losing topsoil and debris flows. The topography of the area is always
changing and will always change.

Works Cited

"AZGS | Hazards | Floods." AZGS | Hazards | Floods. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Geomorphology Class 335. Professor Yanites. 4/15/15
"Plant & Habitat Restoration." Sonoma Ecology Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Shoichet, Catherine E., John Fricke, and Sean Morris. "Flash Floods Slam Arizona, Nevada; 1
Killed." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
"The Geologic Origin of the Sonoran Desert." The Geologic Origin of the Sonoran Desert. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.