If you want to find out how the Grand Canyon started and how old it is well you came to the right place. First of all the groundwater level there was a lot higher than it is now. 17 million years ago the level of the groundwater in the area was about 3,800 feet higher than it is today. Then a few million years passed and the ground water is only 390 feet. The water level dropped as the river carved deeper into the canyon’s floor. And that’s how the Grand Canyon formed. Also the new studies of minerals formations in caves along the Grand Canyon now indicate that parts of the chasm may be 17 million years old.