The Grand Canyon drops about 1.86 km - over a mile - through stacked rock layers that reach back 1.8 billion years. Orbit the stepped walls, accent each formation, and follow the Colorado River that carved it all.
Published figures: 446 km long, up to 29 km wide, about 1.86 km deep; carved by the Colorado River with the main incision over the last 5-6 million years; the Vishnu Basement rocks at the bottom are about 1.7-1.8 billion years old.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Grand Canyon 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows the Grand Canyon as a stepped cross-section: seven major rock formations stacked from the pale Kaibab Limestone at the rim down to the dark Vishnu Basement at the river, with the Colorado River ribbon still cutting the floor.
The canyon runs 446 km across northern Arizona, spreads up to 29 km wide, and drops about 1.86 km - over a mile. The Colorado River did the carving, with the main incision happening over roughly the last five to six million years, while the rocks it exposes span more than 1.7 billion years of Earth history. Grand Canyon National Park, established in 1919, protects nearly all of it.
- Toggle layer accents to make each formation stand out
- Toggle the Colorado River ribbon at the canyon floor
- Read length, width, depth, and rock-age figures in the panel
- See the layer stack from Kaibab Limestone to Vishnu Basement
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 446 km (277 miles) |
| Width | up to 29 km (18 miles) |
| Depth | about 1.86 km - over a mile |
| Carved by | the Colorado River - main incision over the last 5-6 million years |
| Oldest rock | Vishnu Basement, about 1.7-1.8 billion years old |
| Protection | Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA - established 1919 |
For Earth's other extremes, open the Mount Everest 3D Explorer (highest point) or the Dead Sea 3D Explorer (lowest land).
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached.
This is an educational approximation - layer thicknesses and the stepped profile are schematic teaching cues, not survey geology.
Frequently Asked Questions
How deep is the Grand Canyon?
About 1.86 km (over a mile) at its deepest, along a 446 km course that spreads up to 29 km wide.
What carved the Grand Canyon?
The Colorado River, aided by side-stream erosion - geologists date the main incision to roughly the last five to six million years.
How old are the rocks at the bottom?
The Vishnu Basement rocks near the river are about 1.7-1.8 billion years old - the canyon walls expose well over a billion years of Earth history.
What are the main rock layers?
Simplified from top to bottom: Kaibab Limestone, Coconino Sandstone, Hermit Shale, the Supai Group, Redwall Limestone, the Tonto Group, and the Vishnu Basement.
Where is the Grand Canyon?
In northern Arizona, USA - most of it inside Grand Canyon National Park, established in 1919.
Is this a geological simulation?
No. It is an educational explorer using published NPS and USGS figures - layer thicknesses and the stepped profile are schematic teaching cues.