United States Canyon
Big Cottonwood Canyon
1,054 m of rock, cut by the Mineral Fork.
GyozaDumpling · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
1,054 metres, to scale.
A slice through Big Cottonwood Canyon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
1,054m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
8.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
36°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,906m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
10 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 31 °C on the floor, against 21 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in June and in September. The rim freezes at night from October to May. The wettest months are in April and in December.
- 0°-10°Jan
- 2°-8°Feb
- 7°-3°Mar
- 12°2°Apr
- 18°8°May
- 25°15°Jun
- 31°21°Jul
- 29°19°Aug
- 23°13°Sep
- 14°4°Oct
- 6°-4°Nov
- 0°-10°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Canyon in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Big Cottonwood Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Mineral Fork river. The relief model measures 1,054 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,524 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 8.0 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Mount Olympusnearest town · 9.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 40 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.6 km from the floor
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 30 km in a straight lineCar hire at SLC airport (Salt Lake City)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In June and in Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Mineral Fork runs highest from January to May.
The Mineral Fork carries about 1.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from July to September.
- 2.7 m³/sJan
- 3.5 m³/sFeb
- 3.6 m³/sMar
- 3.5 m³/sApr
- 3.2 m³/sMay
- 1.7 m³/sJun
- 0.6 m³/sJul
- 0.3 m³/sAug
- 0.7 m³/sSep
- 1.0 m³/sOct
- 0.9 m³/sNov
- 2.2 m³/sDec
From about 0.33 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.6 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 180 km².
The Little Cottonwood Creek from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 18 × 18 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 3viewpoints within 5 km
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmGreat Western Trail - Utah
- 7footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmLake Blanche Trail, Butler Fork Trail and 5 more
- 3named waterfalls within 4 kmHidden Falls, Donut Falls, Moss Ledge Waterfall
- 17car parks within 3 km
- 7information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 13campsites within 8 kmSpruces Campground, Tanners Flat Campground, Jordan Pines Campground and 10 more
- 10hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSilver Fork Lodge, Snowpine Lodge, The Lodge at Snowbird and 7 more
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- restaurants and cafés within 4 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Mount Olympus9.7 km in a straight line
- Cottonwood Heights10 km in a straight line
- Holladay12 km in a straight line
- East Millcreek12 km in a straight line
- Little Cottonwood Creek Valley12 km in a straight line
- Canyon Rim13 km in a straight line
- Summit Park13 km in a straight line
- Snyderville14 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas41 mountains within 15 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 25 | 31 | 29 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 0 |
| Afternoon · rim | -10 | -8 | -3 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -4 | -10 |
| Night · rim | -19 | -17 | -12 | -9 | -4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | -7 | -13 | -19 |
| Rain (mm) | 56 | 47 | 54 | 63 | 54 | 27 | 19 | 26 | 38 | 44 | 46 | 68 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 5.4 | 6.4 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 9.9 | 12.7 | 12.3 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 7.8 | 5.7 | 4.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 22 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 19 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | -10 | -19 | 56 | 5.4 |
| Feb | 2 | -8 | -17 | 47 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 7 | -3 | -12 | 54 | 7.8 |
| Apr | 12 | 2 | -9 | 63 | 8.6 |
| May | 18 | 8 | -4 | 54 | 9.9 |
| Jun | 25 | 15 | 2 | 27 | 12.7 |
| Jul | 31 | 21 | 7 | 19 | 12.3 |
| Aug | 29 | 19 | 5 | 26 | 11.0 |
| Sep | 23 | 13 | 0 | 38 | 9.8 |
| Oct | 14 | 4 | -7 | 44 | 7.8 |
| Nov | 6 | -4 | -13 | 46 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 0 | -10 | -19 | 68 | 4.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,906 m) and the rim (3,429 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 91% | 77% | 84% | 34% | 26% | 184% | 23% | 4% | 10% | 25% | 57% | 44% |
| 2021 | 58% | 134% | 75% | 60% | 32% | 29% | 136% | 287% | 45% | 244% | 44% | 143% |
| 2022 | 39% | 35% | 80% | 57% | 88% | 65% | 51% | 158% | 71% | 70% | 144% | 138% |
| 2023 | 215% | 89% | 206% | 58% | 46% | 137% | 62% | 191% | 100% | 71% | 82% | 33% |
| 2024 | 88% | 252% | 188% | 66% | 105% | 20% | 41% | 215% | 27% | 102% | 103% | 82% |
| 2025 | 65% | 135% | 165% | 51% | 71% | 2% | 41% | 110% | 51% | 172% | 50% | 82% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Big Cottonwood Canyon
United States
- 1,054 mDepth
- 8.0 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 36°Steepest wall
Little Cottonwood Canyon
United States · 7 km
- 1,359 mDepth
- 8.5 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 45°Steepest wall
American Fork Canyon
United States · 23 km
- 506 mDepth
- 14 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q4905475) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here