In the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the association of high topography and low seismic
velocity in the underlying mantle suggests that recent changes in lithospheric buoyancy may have
been associated with surface uplift of the range. This paper examines the relationships among
late Cenozoic fluvial incision, channel steepness, and mantle velocity...
Cosmogenic-burial and U-series dating, identification of fluvial terraces and lacustrine
deposits, and river-profile reconstructions show that capture of the Gunnison River by
the Colorado River and abandonment of Unaweep Canyon occurred between 1.4-0.8
Ma. This event led to a rapid pulse of incision unlike any documented in the Rocky
Mountains....