Grand Canyon WebQuest

Introduction

Earth's  landscape is made of an infinite diversity of natural beauty, from beaches to forests to mountains to glaciers and icebergs. Most of these are the result of hundreds, or thousands, of years of formation processes. Whether these processes occur within the Earth or at the surface, rocks constantly change to form all different types of landforms. Not only are there so many different types of landforms on Earth, there are many different ways these landforms are created. One of these fascinating landforms is the Grand Canyon, who knew a giant piece of rock could be so breathtaking to look at but so intriguing to figure out how it could have formed! 

The key to understanding the Grand Canyon and its beauty is understanding what shaped it. Which geologic processes, types of plate boundaries or tectonic movements could have created the Grand Canyon? This deep crack in the Earth has been created over thousands of years and the rock formation continues to change. Could the Grand Canyon be the result of one event, one process or is it caused by multiple processes that continue to occur?

Task

You and a team of scientists have been hired to research how the Grand Canyon continues to change and whether it could be possible for there to be another Grand Canyon sometime in the future or somewhere else in the world? First, we need to reflect on our previous knowledge of what drives plate tectonics inside Earth, while learning about the different processes that also change rock on the surface of the Earth. Once you make your Claim (hypothesis), you will gather and record evidence about different geologic processes of Earth. Finally, you will use the data to support or refute your claim and provide reasoning for why your claim is true or false.

Process

Grand Canyon WebQuest Research Slides

Your final task is to provide evidence and reasoning to support your claim of whether or not another Grand Canyon does, or could, exist somewhere else on the planet (second to last slide on the slideshow).

Evaluation
 

3

  • The group accurately explains and identifies all different types of landforms.

  • The group accurately explains and identifies all different causes of landforms.

  • The group clearly provides significant logical evidence and reasoning for their claim.
 

2

  • The group accurately explains and identifies most different types of landforms.

  • The group accurately explains and identifies most different causes of landforms.

  • The group provides some adequate evidence and reasoning for their claim.
 

1

  • The group accurately explains and identifies a few different types of landforms.

  • The group accurately explains and identifies a few different causes of landforms.

  • The group provides minimal evidence and reasoning for their claim.

 

 

 

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have completed your investigation of the Grand Canyon and should be able to determine whether we are the only continent on Earth that can celebrate such an incredible geologic landform. Which processes were involved in the formation of the Grand Canyon? Could deposition have been a factor in building the walls of the Grand Canyon or was the landform more a result of weathering and erosion? Once you have identified which processes are most responsible for the formation of the Grand Canyon, you can explore other geologic landforms on the planet to determine which might have been formed from the same processes.

Credits