The Epeiric Inundation and Catastrophic Spillover Framework: A Systems-Architecture Model of Western North American Geomorphology and the Carving of the Grand Canyon

This independent research paper presents a rigorous, pattern-seeking geological model detailing the cataclysmic formation of the Grand Canyon and the vast, topographically continuous structural corridors that span multiple states across the broader Southwest. Utilizing regional terrain data and structural stratigraphy, the framework demonstrates how a centennial-scale lake breach—specifically tracking the Glenwood Canyon breach and the Paradox Basin overflow network—triggered an automated, high-velocity chain reaction that carved deep bedrock contours. This open-access preprint offers a clinical, systems-level analysis to resolve long-standing academic debates surrounding previously unexplained southwestern geographic features.