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The Colorado River's Largest Tributary Flows 'Uphill' for over 100 Miles — and Geologists May Finally Have an Explanation for It
A dense lower crustal chunk sank 2-5 million years ago, temporarily lowering the Uinta Mountains and enabling the Green River to carve the Canyon of Lodore, researchers say.
- A February 2nd paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface links lithospheric drip to the Green River carving through the Uinta Mountains, authors say.
- Researchers explain that dense minerals at the base of the crust detach and sink into the mantle as a lithospheric drip, pulling the crust downward before rebounding.
- Seismic imaging located a cold, round anomaly about 125 miles below the surface , while modeling revealed a bullseye uplift pattern and more than 1,312-foot elevation fluctuation.
- The study resolves a roughly 150-year debate and shows the Green River's merger with the Colorado River redirected waters toward the Pacific, altered the continental divide of North America, and created new habitat boundaries for wildlife and ecosystems.
- Authors suggest the lithospheric drip concept offers a template for tectonic debates, with similar signals found in the Central Anatolian Plateau, Colorado Plateau, and Sierra Nevada.
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The Colorado River's largest tributary flows 'uphill' for over 100 miles — and geologists may finally have an explanation for it
Millions of years ago, the Green River carved a path through the Uinta Mountains instead of flowing around the formation. Now, researchers have discovered how this could have happened.
·United States
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An unusual path: how does the Green River in Utah flow uphill?
How does a river flow upwards? UK and US researchers think they’ve solved the mystery of the uphill Green River in Utah.The Green River in Utah takes an unusual path by flowing uphill. Image: Adobe.The Green River, the largest tributary of the Colorado River, has taken an uphill route through the Uinta Mountains for the last eight million years – but how?New research including geologists from the University of Glasgow, University College London,…
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Leaning Left2Leaning Right0Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution60% Center
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources are Center
60% Center
L 40%
C 60%
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