Canyons and Valleys

Canyons and valleys are low areas of land found between higher ground like hills or mountains. Understanding these landforms helps us see how water and ice shape Earth's surface over very long periods of time.

A valley is a wide, low area that forms between higher land. Valleys often have gentle slopes on their sides. Many valleys were shaped by rivers that flowed through them for thousands of years, slowly wearing away soil and rock. Some valleys were carved by huge sheets of ice called glaciers that moved slowly across the land long ago. Think of a valley like a wide bowl sitting between mountains.

A canyon is a special type of valley that is deep and narrow with very steep sides. Canyons form when a river cuts down through layers of rock over millions of years. The flowing water acts like sandpaper, slowly wearing away the rock below. The Grand Canyon in Arizona is one of the most famous canyons in the world. It took the Colorado River about six million years to carve this amazing landform.

Both canyons and valleys often follow the paths of rivers. This happens because flowing water has the power to slowly cut into the land through a process called erosion. Over time, the river creates a path that gets deeper and wider.

Interesting Fact: The Grand Canyon is so deep that if you stacked four Empire State Buildings on top of each other, they still wouldn't reach from the bottom to the top!