US EditionGiant Meteor Impact May Have Triggered Massive Grand Canyon Landslide 56,000 Years Ago
ARIZONA, UNITED STATES, JUL 16 – Researchers link the 56,000-year-old Meteor Crater impact to a magnitude 5.4-6 earthquake that triggered a landslide damming the Colorado River and forming a 50-mile-long paleolake.
- On July 15, 2025, researchers reported in Geology that a Barringer Meteorite Crater impact triggered a cliff collapse in the Grand Canyon, damming the Colorado River and forming a paleolake.
- Researchers suggest seismic shockwaves from the impact generated a magnitude 5.4–6 earthquake, which triggered a massive landslide damming the Colorado River.
- In Stanton’s Cave, driftwood fragments dated to just over 55,000 years ago and matching wood and sediment ages of 55,600 years confirm a sudden flood, with beaver tracks high in remote caves adding unusual evidence.
- Researchers estimated the paleolake stretched about 50 miles and reached depths of at least 300 feet, while Karl Karlstrom said `It would have required a ten-times bigger flood level than any flood that has happened in the past several thousand years.`
- These findings suggest the study provides an important step forward in understanding dramatic geological phenomena, revealing an additional hazard of future impact events: landslides in mountainous regions, which can disrupt communities and reshape landscapes.
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nexusnewsfeed.comGiant meteor impact may have triggered massive Grand Canyon landslide 56,000 years ago
Researchers have found a link between two geological events in iconic locations of the U.S. Southwest that scientists previously didn't think had anything to do with each other.
Study finds link between Grand Canyon landslide and meteor crater impact
Geology is full of detective stories about the Earth's history, and a new paper in Geology by University of New Mexico Distinguished Professors Emeritus Karl Karlstrom and Laurie Crossey, along with their co‐authors, links two iconic geologic landmarks of the American Southwest: the Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater. The article, titled "Grand Canyon landslide‐dam and paleolake triggered by the Meteor Crater impact at 56 ka," highlights the strikin…
Did a meteor impact trigger a massive Grand Canyon landslide 56,000 years ago?
A meteorite that struck near Winslow, Arizona, about 56,000 years ago may have triggered a massive landslide in the Grand Canyon, according to new research published in Geology by an international team led by the University of Arizona and the…
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