Bidahochi / Hopi Lake, Grand Canyon, Arizona

3D map of the Bidahochi Basin that used to hold Lake Bidahochi, sometimes called Hopi Lake. This lake system is believed by some geologists to have been part of what breached through the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, releasing thousands of cubic miles of water, and triggering the catastrophic carving of the Grand Canyon through the uplifted Kaibab Plateau. From the Kaibab Plateau breach going west, it's all downhill to the ocean. A catastrophic, exponential, runaway process of a breached dam may be involved in the formation of the Grand Canyon, explaining mass-wasting features, side canyons, and lack of delta debris further downstream in today's Colorado River. Breached dams and catastrophic event erosion has been witnessed many times, and further evidenced in geological examples such as the Lake Missoula ice dam breach, forming the Channeled Scablands, and rapidly carving of the Columbia River Gorge to the Pacific Ocean. –Nate Loper #ArizonaGuide