Volcanoes, erosion and the Little Grand Canyon

The largest volcano eruption ever recorded in the USA was the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. At the peak of that eruption the volcano was erupting at the force of one atomic bomb per second! Now that is a lot of force. This eruption formed strata over 20 feet high in five hours, removed large forests, and cut a canyon one fortieth the size of the Grand Canyon. It is on this canyon that I will focus.This canyon is so like the Grand Canyon that scientists have called it the "little Grand Canyon." I highly doubt that I have conveyed the stunning strength of this eruption. The Little Grand Canyon has the looks as if it had been carved out by a little creek at the bottom of it over millions of years. In fact, it was carved out in less than a day!   However, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was a small one compared with many other eruptions recorded. 


The Little Grand Canyon

can you find the human in this picture?

This reasonably large canyon was not, as is easy to supposed carved out by the creek at the bottom. It is one fortieth the size of the Grand Canyon, and is very similar to it. This canyon was made in less than a day when mud flows from Mount St. Helens cut through the sedimentary rock, resulting in this amazing canyon. Astoundingly, this canyon is not near as well known as Mount St. Helens, because it supports the theory that the Grand Canyon could have been carved by a catastrophe. 


Mount Tambora

Mount Tambora before 1815

Mount Tambora after 1815

This volcano is responsible for the largest eruption in recorded history. In 1815 it erupted, spewing ash from where it is located on the lesser Sunda Islands, as far as Borneo and Sumatra.. The sound of the eruption was heard far away, and 1816 was known as The Year Without Summer! Mount Tambora affected the climate of the US, Canada and Europe, not to mention Asia. The eruption blew over 2000 feet of the summit and buried towns and villages in seconds with Pyroclastic flows. The eruption was about four times the force of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa! 

The approximate ash spread of Mount Tambora

Krakatoa

Krakatoa is perhaps one of  the most famous volcanoes. The reason is because it had a large eruption in 1883. Now only one of four peaks remains. The eruption, though not as big as the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, was of considerable size. It caused tsunami, as is not uncommon with volcanoes, but had a force so powerful that it destroyed three peaks of a mountain! This is just one example of the powerful and speedy force of volcanoes.


The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

All of this provides evidence that many of the world's geological displays are the result of catastrophes. The Grand Canyon contains evidence, such as lava flows, that it was carved by a volcano. It could have been carved by a flood. Now I am not stating that it definitely was created by a volcano or a flood. I am simply stating that it is a high and likely possibility that it was. Thank you for reading. 
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