A new image taken by the Expedition 39 crew aboard the ISS on March 25, 2014 shows the Grand Canyon from orbit, slicing through the Kaibab Plateau, which is part of the expansive Colorado Plateau of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.
On either side of the canyon, the image showcases the visibility of the canyon's forested North and South Rims, LiveScience reported.
"The popular South Rim, which hosts about 90 percent of the Grand Canyon's 5 million visitors a year, averages about 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) in elevation, according to the National Park Service," LiveScience reported. "The remote North Rim is about 1,000 feet (305 m) higher. Its cooler climes mean that roads to the North Rim are closed October through May each year."
Through layers of schist, sandstone, limestone and more, the Grand Canyon plunges a mile between the two rims.
Over millions of years, the Colorado River carved the 227-river-mile canyon as a tectonic uplift was experienced by the Colorado Plateau.
However, it is a point of huge debate on how much time it took to carve the Canyon.
"On one side are researchers who see the canyon as 'young' - The gorge as it is today is about 6 million years old, carved out by the Colorado River after it changed course some 11 million years ago. But some research points to sections of the canyon dating back 70 million years," LiveScience reported.
"Some researchers see these old sections as evidence of the origin of the Grand Canyon, while others argue that they are in fact 'paleo-canyons' carved long ago that the Colorado River simply found and flowed into. Others argue that these sections represent the origin of today's canyon."
Due to gaps in the geological record and recent, complicated tectonic changes in the region, the debate has only gotten much more aggravated.
As part of National Park Week, visitors will be able to get a closer look at the canyon for free on April 19 and 20, LiveScience reported.
