Grizzly Falls is an excellent stop in Kings Canyon on the way to Road Ends. Take a break from driving, take pictures of the waterfall, and learn about geological powers which created this beautiful canyon for us to explore.
Kings Canyon is partially formed by several generations of glaciers, and partially is river-carved. Grizzly Falls is important location in the canyon, because it is the dividing point between 2 driving forces which formed and shaped the Canyon.
Water, a V-Shaped Chisel
From Grizzly Falls to the west, the gorge is all river-carved. Flowing water moves eroded material in short bursts at speed of few miles per hour. Running water can move around or under blockages allowing it to find or create a narrow twisting path. This forms V-shaped drainage over the years.
Examples of deep V-shaped canyons carved by rivers are Tara River in Montenegro (left), and Grand Canyon in Arizona (right).
Ice, a U-Shaped Chisel
From Grizzly Falls to the east, the canyon landscape shows more evidence of glaciers. While water runs at miles per hour, glaciers move much slower at feet per year. During long glaciation periods, the snow piles up and gets compressed into ice. This large mass of ice slowly slid downhill, pushing and carving rock as it moved down the canyon.
Examples of deep wide U-Shaped canyons carved by glaciers are Yosemite Valley (left) and Norwegian fjords (right).
Glacial Toe and Moraine
As glaciers move downhill, eventually they come to a place where temperatures are warm enough to melt the ice. This is called a glacial toe, and here is the place where glaciers dumps rocks and other materials it scraped up and carried in the ice on the way down. Because location of glacial toe is mostly constant over many years, the dumped material forms piles of debris called moraine. During different glaciation periods glacial toe can be formed in different locations. Most prominent moraine can be found about 3 miles east of Cedar Grove.
So Where Did the Glacier End?
Using information from previous section, now we can now figure which erosion force contributed to canyon formation. U-shape means ice, and V-shape means water. According to information plaque found at coordinates of this cache, east from here the canyon was formed mostly by glaciers, and west from here carved by the river. Is this statement correct?
For logging requirements for this cache, send me the answers for the following questions (via geocaching.com messaging):
- This cache id GC9DN40 and name "Kings Canyon - Erosive Powers: Water and Ice"
- What is canyon shape at Grizzly Falls location? U-shape or V-shape?
- What is canyon shape at Way Point 1 – Horseshoe Bend. There is a nice safe pullout on the side of the road at WP1 coordinates. It is about 5 miles drive west from Grizzly Falls. You already passed this location on the way to Grizzly Falls and should know the answer. Bonus question: how far below is canyon bottom from observation area?
- What is canyon shape at Way Point 2 – Cedar Grove. It is about 5 miles drive east from Grizzly Falls.
- From you answers to questions 2-4, what is your conclusion about where canyon’s U-shape form (carved by glacier) turns into V-shape (formed by river). Is it at Grizzly Falls?
Disclainmer: most informaiton in this cache about canyons formation was taken from the sign placed by United States Forest Service at the cache coordinates. Text was copied with minor re-phrasing. Images copied from public internet.