| Physical Geology 2005 |
 |
Photo Courtesy of Chihuahua Goverment
Related Links
Chihuahua to the Pacific Railroad:
Copper Canyon Goverment Site:
http://www.coppercanyon-mexico.com/
Photo Courtesy of Chihuahua Goverment
Photo Courtesy of Chihuahua Goverment
Corrido de Chihuahua
Yo soy del mero Chihuahua,
del mineral de Parral,
y escuchen este corrido
que alegre voy a cantar,
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
Eres mi tierra norteña,
india vestida de sol,
brava como un león herido
dulce como una canción.
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
Lindas las noches de luna
arrulladas con sotol,
que por alla por "La Junta"
me paseaba con mi amor.
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
Las fiestas de Santa Rita
del noble y viejo real,
que tienen sabor añejo
y alegria tradicional.
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
La cascada Basiasiachic
es como lluvia de plata,
donde me iba por tarde
a pasearme con mi chata
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
Para valientes mi tierra,
para manzanas el valle,
asaderos Villa Ahumada
y de la sierra la carne.
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
Esas liebres orejeras
y los pinos de Majalca
y el gran ganado llamado
cara blanca de Chihuahua.
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
Las ferias de Santa Rosa
plata y oro del Parral
las grullas y los venados
esa es mi tierra natal.
¡Que bonito es Chihuahua!
Ya me voy, ya me despido
no se les vaya a olvidar,
pa' gente buena Chihuahua
que es valiente, noble y leal.
-- Felipe Bermejo/De Lille
Copper Canyon
Image Credit: Angus McIntyre
Introduction to Barrancas del Cobre
The Copper Canyon, or Barrancas del Cobre, is actually a 25,000 square mile system of six interconnected canyons located at the Southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Four of this six canyons are deeper that the Grand Canyon, some by over 1,000 feet. However, the Grand Canyon is larger that any of the individual canyons of the Copper Canyon system. The deepest canyon is the Urique Canyon with 6, 136 ft. in depth. The Batopilas Canyon is 6,002 ft. deep. The Sinforosa Canyon is 5,904 ft. deep. The Copper Canyon is 5,770 ft. deep. All of the rivers that formed the canyons merged into the Rio Fuerte which continues it’s way to the Pacific and emerges into the Sea of Cortez.
Geologic Processes of Canyon Formation
The formation of canyons can be related to the tendency of streams to reach a base elevation level. If the walls from the trough slope gently, the erosion caused from the stream forms a valley. If they slope steeply, the stream creates a canyon. In other words, the larger the difference in height between the stream and its inlet into a lake or ocean, the greater the energy the stream will downcut through its substrate. Canyons are formed when erosion from the stream occurs relatively faster than the rate at which mass wasting causes the walls on the side of the stream to collapse.
Deposition of First Layer
Image Credit: Stephen Reynolds:Geologic Scenary Images
Deposition of Second Layer
Image Credit: Stephen Reynolds:Geologic Scenary Images
Deposition of Third Layer
Image Credit: Stephen Reynolds:Geologic Scenary Images
River Erosion Leads to Canyon Formation
Image Credit: Stephen Reynolds:Geologic Scenary Images
Products of the Geologic Process
The Copper Canyon consists of six major ignimbrite units that erupted during a very short time span around 29.5 million years ago. Four rivers, Rio Verde, Rio Batopilas, Rio Urique, and Rio Fuerte, have carved the Sierra Madre Occidental canyons. The Geology of the region alternates between soft and hard layers. This is the reason why the Copper Canyon is a stair-step canyon
Photo Courtesy of Chihuahua Sate Goverment
Image taken by Erick Garcia
Impacts
Climate
The temperature at the top and at the bottom of the canyon is significantly different. During the winter the temperature at the highest point of the canyon stays around the 50 degrees while the temperature at the bottom of the canyon reaches the 80 degrees. Vegetation is also different in the two zones. The highlands are home of Ponderosa pines and oak, whereas the bottom is predominately sub-tropical.
Tourism
The Copper Canyon is also a major tourist attraction. In 1921, the Mexican government inaugurated a railroad that linked Chihuahua city with Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Seventy two tunnels and twenty seven bridges were needed to build such construction.
Photo Courtesy of Chihuahua Sate Goverment
Tarahumaras
The Copper Canyon is also home of the Tarahumara, the
second largest tribe in North America. The Tarahumara are descendents
of Arizona’s Apaches. It is estimated that the Tarahumaras inhabited
the region some 2,000 years ago. The Tarahumara call themselves raramuri,
or “light feet.” This is because the ethnic group is famous
for running distances for over 100 miles non-stop. The bottom of the
canyon gives the Tarahumaras protection from extreme weather.
Photo Courtesy of Chihuahua Sate Goverment
Photo Courtesy of Chihuahua Sate Goverment
Literature Cited
Annerino, John. Canyons of the Southwest. Sierra Club Books, 1993.
Barud, Alberto. Geology and Mineral Resources of Northern Mexico. Barrancas del Cobre Field Trip Report, March 12-16, 1999. http://www.geo.utep.edu/pub/barud/sonchi_content.html
Beus, Stanley; Morales, Michael. Grand Canyon Geology. Oxford University Press, 1990
Chihuahua Sate Tourism Office. www.coppercanyon-mexico.com
Garza, Benito. http://barrancasdelcobrewebsite.com/
Hoernke, Craig. Copper Canyon. http://www.exciting-escapes.com/
Marshak, Stephen. Essentials of Geology. W. W. Norton, 2004
Mountain Nature. www.mountainnature.com/Geology/Canyons.htm
Salas, Guillermo. Sierra Madre Occidental Metallogenic Province. Economic Geology, Mexico. Vol P-3. The Geological Society of America, 1991.
Swanson, Erick. Specialist in the Sierra Madre Occidental
Volcanic Field. Personal Communication, 2005
Photo taken by Erick Garcia
Creation/revision date: April 12, 2005
Link to other Student Webpages for 2005 Earlham Physical Geology
This website was
prepared as an assignment
for Geosciences 211
(Physical Geology) taught in the spring of 2005 at Earlham College, Richmond,
Indiana.
|
Earlham College· Geosciences Department · Earlham Geosciences 211: Physical Geology |
Copyright © 2005 Earlham College. Revised April 12, 2005 . Send corrections or comments to garcier@earlham.eduErick Garcia