Canyon Clay

Canyon

A canyon, gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cut through underlying surfaces, eventually wearing away rock layers as sediments are removed downstream. A river bed will gradually reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water into which the river drains. The processes of weathering and erosion will form canyons when the river's headwaters and estuary are at significantly different elevations, particularly through regions where softer rock layers are intermingled with harder layers more resistant to weathering.

Clay

Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals. Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impurities, such as a reddish or brownish colour from small amounts of iron oxide.

canyon

Noun

1. A valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river.

Verb

1. Of water, liquid, or another substance, to flow in or into a canyon.

clay

Noun

1. A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics.
2. An earth material with ductile qualities.

Verb

1. To add clay to or to spread clay onto.
2. To purify using clay.