Abstract
The Grand Canyon is famous for its awe-inspiring natural wonders, including its caves. Double Bopper and Leandras caves have some of the longest passage lengths in the world and are nestled within the limestone of the Redwall Formation, featuring an intricate maze-like pattern. This study explored previous hypotheses about the formation of these caves. To simulate their development, multiple scenarios were tested utilizing the numerical model CAVE. Model simulation accuracy was evaluated through multivariate statistical analysis. The findings indicated that the intersection of faults surrounding the caves created a highly permeable zone, allowing meteoric and hypogene water to move freely, with or without a single point source of percolation. Given the uncertainty about past hydrogeologic conditions, the caves are estimated to have taken from 4 to 10 million years to develop, consistent with previous studies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1751-1768 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Hydrogeology Journal |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Association of Hydrogeologists 2024.
Funding
The authors would like to thank National Park Service (NPS) staff at Grand Canyon National Park for reviewing this manuscript prior to submission. Cave locations are not given in this manuscript to abide by the Federal Cave Resource Protection Act of 1988. This research was conducted under an NPS Research Permit.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Park Service |
Keywords
- Caves
- Grand Canyon
- Karst
- Multivariate statistical analysis
- Numerical modeling
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Water Science and Technology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)