How the Canyon Was Formed The rocky walls of the Grand Canyon look like a box of melted crayons. They have layers of red, pink, purple, brown, green, gray, and yellow. No huge cranes, noisy drills, or giant shovels dug the canyon. It was created by the mighty Colorado River. Books to read: Grand Canyon Rivers wind through earth, cutting down and eroding the soil for millions of years, creating a cavity in the ground 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and more than a mile deep known as the Grand Canyon. Home to an astonishing variety of plants and animals that have lived and evolved within its walls for…