Question

Lab Question 7: Explain why the Mississippi River would NOT form a Grand Canyon-like feature in Minnesota. Your reasoning should connect your experimental evidence to scientific principles and explain WHY the evidence supports your claim about river formation in at least two sentences.

Tips/Options for Writing Your Reasoning:

⭐ Sentence 1: Connect river gradient and vegetation to your observations

⭐ Sentence 2: Explain how this affects canyon formation


Example Sentence Starters:

"Based on our evidence of river gradients and vegetation, we know that ______ because ______."
"This explains why canyon formation differs because ______."

Answer 1

Based on our evidence of river gradients and vegetation, we know that the Mississippi River in Minnesota has a relatively low gradient and is surrounded by abundant vegetation, which promotes soil stability and reduces erosion because the slow-moving water does not have enough energy to cut deeply into the landscape. This explains why canyon formation differs because, unlike in areas with steep gradients and less vegetation, where rivers can aggressively carve out deep valleys, the gentle flow of the Mississippi in this region lacks the erosive power needed to create a Grand Canyon-like feature.