El Cañón del Chicamocha is a place where so many adventures can happen. It is very close to becoming a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. This means it is a special place where the natural history is so important that the area should be protected for future generations to learn from and enjoy. I certainly have enjoyed all the chances to adventure in the beautiful canyon.
This is the second largest canyon in the world by volume after the Grand Canyon in the USA! The Chicamocha Canyon started forming when a river began carving through the rock millions of years ago. The Chicamocha Canyon reveals a lot of tectonic (having to do with the giant plates that form the earth's crust) activity in this region. As you walk down its very steep sides, you can “see” back in time almost 500 million years ago. Scientists learn so much about the ancient earth by examining rocks. Canyons and other places where lots of different layers of rocks are visible are a great place to “read” the rock record. By looking closely at the rocks all the way down the canyon, scientists learn a lot about the earth history of this place.
