With so much more of the earthΓÇÖs surface area now exposed to the elements, natureΓÇÖs erosive arsenal of sun, wind, and water began to make bold changes in the landscape. The softer sedimentary layers which covered the hard igneous cores of the mountains soon began to crumble under this erosive onslaught. The broad watercourses which had once meandered so leisurely across alluvial plains were forced to work their way through or around the twisted uplifts. As they did, they carried fine sediments from the higher peaks. These sediments became a battering array of tiny drills carving a route through the path of least resistance.
With the passage of millions of years, an intricate river system was carved deep into the sedimentary layers, in places many miles wide, in others, only hundreds of feet wide, depending
