An ancient and unknown canyon has been discovered under a river in Tibet.
The giant canyon is thousands of feet deep and has been carved by a river several million years ago!
Researchers have made a surprising discovery in Tibet, unearthing an ancient, mystery canyon buried deep under sediment along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the southern part of the country.
This is a pretty unexpected discovery puzzling scientists from Caltech, California. Yes, it is amazing to see that the river was once cut quite deeply into the Tibetan Plateau because it does not today.
Evidence of the buried canyon was first seen in data collected last year by China Earthquake Administration engineers who were drilling along the river.
To determine when the canyon formed and when it was buried, the researchers measured levels of two radioisotopes — beryllium-10 and aluminum-26 — in samples of sediment collected from the drilling.
The isotope measurements showed that the canyon began filling with sediment around 2.5 million years ago.
Around the same time, shifting continental plates triggered an abrupt upward movement of the mountainous terrain in the region.
That dammed the river, causing the sediment to accumulate until the canyon was buried.
In August, a hidden canyon collapsed in Mexico!
