Canyon
A canyon (from
A canyon may also refer to a rift between two mountain peaks, such as those in ranges including the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, the Himalayas or the Andes. Usually, a river or stream carves out such splits between mountains. Examples of mountain-type canyons are Provo Canyon in Utah or Yosemite Valley in California's Sierra Nevada. Canyons within mountains, or gorges that have an opening on only one side, are called box canyons. Slot canyons are very narrow canyons that often have smooth walls.
Steep-sided valleys in the
Etymology
The word canyon is Spanish in origin (cañón,
Formation
Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time
Canyons are much more common in arid areas than in wet areas because physical weathering has a more localized effect in arid zones. The wind and water from the river combine to erode and cut away less resistant materials such as shales. The freezing and expansion of water also serves to help form canyons. Water seeps into cracks between the rocks and freezes, pushing the rocks apart and eventually causing large chunks to break off the canyon walls, in a process known as frost wedging.[5] Canyon walls are often formed of resistant sandstones or granite.
Sometimes large rivers run through canyons as the result of gradual geological uplift. These are called
Canyons often form in areas of limestone rock. As limestone is soluble to a certain extent, cave systems form in the rock. When a cave system collapses, a canyon is left, as in the Mendip Hills in Somerset and Yorkshire Dales in Yorkshire, England.
Box canyon
A box canyon is a small canyon that is generally shorter and narrower than a river canyon, with steep walls on three sides, allowing access and egress only through the mouth of the canyon. Box canyons were frequently used in the western United States as convenient corrals, with their entrances fenced.[6]
Largest
The definition of "largest canyon" is imprecise, because a canyon can be large by its depth, its length, or the total area of the canyon system. Also, the inaccessibility of the major canyons in the
The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (or Tsangpo Canyon), along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, is regarded by some as the deepest canyon in the world at 5,500 metres (18,000 ft). It is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon in the United States.[7] Others consider the Kali Gandaki Gorge in midwest Nepal to be the deepest canyon, with a 6,400-metre (21,000 ft) difference between the level of the river and the peaks surrounding it.
Vying for the deepest canyon in the Americas is the Cotahuasi Canyon and Colca Canyon, in southern Peru. Both have been measured at over 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) deep.
The
The largest canyon in Europe is Tara River Canyon.
The largest canyon in Africa is the Fish River Canyon in Namibia.[10]
In August 2013, the discovery of Greenland's Grand Canyon was reported, based on the analysis of data from Operation IceBridge. It is located under an ice sheet. At 750 kilometres (470 mi) long, it is believed to be the longest canyon in the world.[11]
Despite not being quite as deep or long as the Grand Canyon, the Capertee Valley in Australia is actually 1 km wider than the Grand Canyon, making it the widest canyon in the world.[12][13]
Cultural significance
Some canyons have notable cultural significance. Evidence of
Notable examples
The following list contains only the most notable canyons of the world, grouped by region.
Africa
Namibia
South Africa
Tanzania
Americas
Argentina
Brazil
Bolivia
Canada
- Grand Canyon of the Stikine, British Columbia
- Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta
- Niagara Gorge, Ontario
- Ouimet Canyon, Ontario
Colombia
Mexico
Peru
- Cañón del Pato, Ancash Region
- Arequipa Region
- Cotahuasi Canyon, Arequipa Region
United States
- American Fork Canyon, Utah
- Antelope Canyon, Arizona
- Apple River Canyon, Illinois
- Ausable Chasm, New York
- Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado
- Black Hand Gorge, Ohio
- Blackwater Canyon, West Virginia
- Blue Creek Canyon, Colorado
- Box Canyon, Colorado
- Breaks Canyon, Kentucky and Virginia
- Butterfield Canyon, Utah
- Cane Creek, Alabama
- Canyon de Chelly, Arizona
- Green River, Utah
- Cheat Canyon, West Virginia
- Clifton Gorge, Ohio
- Clifty Canyon, Indiana
- Cloudland Canyon, Georgia
- Columbia River Gorge, Oregon and Washington
- Conkle's Hollow, Ohio
- Cottonwood Canyon, Utah
- Crooked River Gorge, Oregon
- Death Hollow, Utah
- Desolation Canyon, Utah
- Dismals Canyon, Alabama
- Flaming Gorge, Wyoming and Utah
- Flume Gorge, New Hampshire
- Glen Canyon, Utah and Arizona
- Glenwood Canyon, Colorado
- Gore Canyon, Colorado
- Grand Canyon, Arizona
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Wyoming
- Grandstaff Canyon, Utah
- Guffey Gorge, Colorado
- Gulf Hagas, Maine
- Hells Canyon, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington
- Horse Canyon, Utah
- Kern River Canyon, California
- Kings Canyon, Utah
- Kings Canyon, California
- Leslie Gulch, Oregon
- Linville Gorge, North Carolina
- Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah
- Little Grand Canyon, Illinois
- Little River Canyon, Alabama
- Logan Canyon, Utah
- Mather Gorge, Maryland
- Marysvale Canyon, Utah
- McCormick's Creek Canyon, Indiana
- Millcreek Canyon, Utah
- New River Gorge, West Virginia
- Ninemile Canyon, Utah
- Ogden Canyon, Utah
- Oneonta Gorge, Oregon
- Palo Duro Canyon, Texas
- Parleys Canyon, Utah
- Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania
- Poudre Canyon, Colorado
- Providence Canyon, Georgia
- Quechee Gorge, Vermont
- Red River Gorge, Kentucky
- Rio Grande Gorge, New Mexico
- Royal Gorge, Colorado
- Ruby Canyon, Utah
- Snake River Canyon, Idaho
- Snow Canyon, Utah
- Stillwater Canyon, Utah
- Tallulah Gorge, Georgia
- Tenaya Canyon, California
- Tennessee River Gorge, Alabama and Tennessee
- The Trough, West Virginia
- Unaweep Canyon, Colorado
- Uncompahgre Gorge, Colorado
- Waimea Canyon, Hawaii
- Walls of Jericho, Alabama
- Weber Canyon, Utah
- Westwater Canyon, Utah
- Wolverine Canyon, Utah
- White Canyon, Utah
- Zion Canyon, Utah
Asia
China
- Three Gorges, Chongqing
- Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan
- Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Tibet Autonomous Region
India
- Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh
- Chatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh
- Idukki, Western Ghats, Kerala
Indonesia
- Brown Canyon, Semarang, Central Java
- Cukang Taneuh, Pangandaran, West Java
Others
- Afghanistan – Tang-e Gharu
- Japan – Tenryū-kyō in Nagano Prefecture
- Kazakhstan – Charyn Canyon
- Nepal – Kali Gandaki Gorge
- Russia – Vitim River)
- Pakistan - Indus River Gorge through the Himalaya
- Taiwan – Taroko Gorge in Hualien County
- Turkey – Ihlara Valley in Aksaray Province
Europe
United Kingdom
- Avon Gorge, Bristol
- Burrington Combe, Somerset
- Cheddar Gorge, Somerset
- Corrieshalloch Gorge, Ullapool
- Ebbor Gorge, Somerset
- Gordale Scar, North Yorkshire
- Winnats Pass, Derbyshire
France
- Gorges de l'Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Gorges de Daluis, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Gorges du Tarn, Occitanie
- Grands Goulets, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Verdon Gorge, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Ukraine
Others
- Albania – Osum Canyon, Kanionet e Skraparit
- Albania/Montenegro – Cem
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Rakitnica, Drina, Neretva, Vrbas, Unac, Čude, Ugar, Prača,
- Bulgaria – Trigrad Gorge, Kresna Gorge, Iskar Gorge
- Finland – Kevo Canyon
- Germany – Partnach Gorge
- Greece – Samaria Gorge
- Greenland – Greenland's Grand Canyon
- Iceland – Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
- Kosovo – Kacanik Gorge
- North Macedonia – Matka Canyon
- Montenegro – Piva
- Montenegro/Bosnia and Herzegovina – Tara River Canyon
- Montenegro/Serbia – Ibar
- Norway – Sautso Canyon
- Poland/Slovakia – Dunajec River Gorge
- Russia – Sulak Canyon, Dagestan
- Serbia - Lazar's Canyon
- Serbia/Bosnia and Herzegovina – Lim
- Serbia/Romania - Iron Gates
- Slovenia – Vintgar Gorge
- Switzerland – Aare Gorge
Oceania
Australia
- Joffre Gorge, Karijini National Park, Western Australia
- Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory
- Kings Canyon, Northern Territory
- Murchison River Gorge, Western Australia
- Jamison Valley, New South Wales
- Capertee Valley, New South Wales – the world's second-widest canyon
- Shoalhaven Gorge, New South Wales
- Victoria
- The Slot Canyons of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales
New Zealand
- Manawatū Gorge, North Island
- Skippers Canyon, South Island
Outer space
- Ithaca Chasma on Saturn's moon Tethys
- Valles Marineris on Mars, the largest-known canyon in the Solar System
- Vid Flumina on Saturn's largest moon Titan is the only known liquid-floored canyon in the Solar System besides Earth[14]
- Messina Chasmata on Uranus' moon Titania
Venus has many craters and canyons on its surface. The troughs on the planet are part of a system of canyons that is more than 6,400 km long.
See also
- Antecedent drainage stream – stream maintaining its original course and pattern despite the changes in underlying rock top
- Canyoning – Traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques
- Chine – Steep-sided river valley
- Draw (terrain)– Terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between
- Geomorphology – Scientific study of landforms
- Gully – Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
- Steephead valley – Landform
- Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
References
- ^ "canon". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020.
- ^ "canyon". National Geographic Society. 20 May 2011.
- ^ Ward Cameron (2005). "Understanding Canyon Formation". Archived from the original on 2001-04-25. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ "The Geology of the Grand Canyon". Retrieved 2015-10-01.
- ^ "box canyon". Encarta World English Dictionary. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-12-17. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
- ^ "China Virtual Museums: Canyon". Kepu.net.
- ^ "Park Statistics". National Park Service. USA.
- ^ Truong, Alice (1 July 2011). "Everything About the Grand Canyon". Discovery Communications. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-86872-725-4.
- ^ "Grand Canyon of Greenland Discovered under Ice". news.discovery.com. 2017-05-10. Archived from the original on 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
- ^ Fitzsimons, David (14 December 2015). "Capertee Valley: Australia's own Grand Canyon". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Kruszelnicki, Karl S. (22 May 2012). "Grand Canyon is not so grand › Dr Karl's Great Moments In Science". ABC Science. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- S2CID 132445293.
External links
- Canyons and gorges travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Media related to Canyons at Wikimedia Commons