In the United States, there is a river that defies gravity and scientists have finally explained how it does so.
It is the Green River, which crosses the Uinta mountains in an apparently impossible way.
However, now researchers from the universities of Glasgow and Utah have solved the geological enigma that lasted 150 years.
The phenomenon occurs because the river defies the conventional laws of gravity by flowing uphill to cross a 4000-meter mountain range.
A process called lithospheric dripping allowed the water to carve a 700-meter-deep canyon in the heart of the mountains.
The impossible chronology of the river that defies gravity
The key to the mystery lay in the dates. The Uinta mountains formed 50 million years ago, while the Green River took its current route less than 8 million years ago.
Normally, water seeks the path of least resistance and goes around rock formations. However, this river defies that gravity logic by crossing them directly.
Scientists discovered that a dense mineral mass sank beneath the Earth’s crust. This sinking dragged the terrain towards the Earth’s mantle, temporarily altering the elevation of the mountains.
What is the lithospheric dripping that creates this “anti-gravity river”?
The lithospheric dripping is a geological process that explains how the river defies the established topography and gravity. This phenomenon occurs when:
- Mineral-rich materials accumulate at the base of the crust
- The layer becomes too heavy due to gravity
- The fragment detaches and sinks into the mantle
- The surface first experiences a sinking and then a rebound
“We believe we have gathered sufficient evidence to demonstrate that lithospheric dripping is responsible for pulling the terrain enough to allow rivers to link and merge,” stated Adam Smith, lead author of the study published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface.
This temporary descent allowed the river to flow over a previously inaccessible area. By eroding the rock during the sinking, the channel established a permanent “anti-gravity” channel.
Underground evidence
Researchers used seismic images to confirm their hypothesis. This technique works like a medical scanner that visualizes the interior of the planet.
They detected a cold and circular anomaly 200 kilometers deep beneath the mountains. This mass has a diameter of between 50 and 100 kilometers.
The fragment detached approximately two to five million years ago. Its disappearance explains why the Earth’s crust in this area is several kilometers thinner than expected.
The terrain experienced a fluctuation of over 400 meters. This change allowed the integration of the Green River with the Colorado River system.
Continental impact
The union of both rivers redefined the continental divide of North America. This event altered the separation between the basins that flow into the Pacific and those that flow towards the Atlantic.
The change created new natural boundaries for the local fauna. This directly influenced the region’s biological evolution processes.
Smith refuted previous theories about excessive sedimentation or river capture. The evidence “contradicts the idea that the “anti-gravity” river emerged before the mountains,” he stated emphatically.
This discovery will help resolve other tectonic debates that lack a clear scientific explanation in different parts of the planet.
With information from National Geographic.
