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Calf Creek from the Hogsback on Rt 12 (4080128087)

United States United States Canyon

Calf Creek Canyon

221 m from rim to floor.

See the cutWhen to go

Greg Willis from Denver, CO, usa · CC BY-SA 2.0

The cut

221 metres, to scale.

A slice through Calf Creek 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.

1,783 m1,831 m221 m2.3 km rim to rim500 m1,783 m1,831 m221 m2.3 km rim to rim500 mvertical scale × 2.1

Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 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.

221m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

2.3km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

22°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

1,562m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

Afternoons, up top and down below.

In July the afternoon reaches 34 °C. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to February.

rim · 1,831 mfloor · 1,562 m
  1. 6°5°Jan
  2. 8°7°Feb
  3. 14°12°Mar
  4. 18°17°Apr
  5. 24°23°May
  6. 32°31°Jun
  7. 34°33°Jul
  8. 32°31°Aug
  9. 28°26°Sep
  10. 20°18°Oct
  11. 12°10°Nov
  12. 6°4°Dec
Hike: Apr–May, OctFrost on the rim: Dec–Feb

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 the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Garfield County, Utah, United States

Calf Creek Canyon is a canyon in United States. The relief model measures 221 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 269 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 2.3 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument.

Getting there.

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 the river runs highest from March to April.

The the river carries about 0.27 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to April. It is lowest in June and in December.

  1. 0.5 m³/sJan
  2. 0.9 m³/sFeb
  3. 1.7 m³/sMar
  4. 1.4 m³/sApr
  5. 0.8 m³/sMay
  6. 0.1 m³/sJun
  7. 0.2 m³/sJul
  8. 0.3 m³/sAug
  9. 0.5 m³/sSep
  10. 0.8 m³/sOct
  11. 0.4 m³/sNov
  12. 0.0 m³/sDec

From about 0.02 m³/s in the lowest month to 1.7 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,257 km².

The Escalante River 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.

Calf Creek Canyon seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 1.2 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.0 × 5.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 4viewpoints within 5 kmLookout Escalante, Head Of The Rocks Overlook, Phantastic Viewpoint and 1 more
  • 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
  • 6car parks within 3 km
  • 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 13campsites within 8 kmSite 5, Calf Creek Campground, Deer Creek Campground and 10 more
  • 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • marked hiking routes within 4 km
  • 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
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km
  • bus stops within 2 km
  • hotels and guesthouses within 8 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).

In our other atlases

What else is around Calf Creek 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
Escalante River145 km
Peakyas3 mountains within 15 km
Durffey Mesa · 9.9 kmMcGath Point · 10 kmSugarloaf · 14 km

Figures 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor681418243234322820126
Afternoon · rim571217233133312618104
Night · rim-6-5-227131816114-2-6
Rain (mm)19171814169272725271617
Rainy days555443796534
Sun hours/day6.97.48.79.911.012.910.39.710.08.97.46.1
Snow on the ground (cm)141384100001614
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan65-6196.9
Feb87-5177.4
Mar1412-2188.7
Apr18172149.9
May242371611.0
Jun323113912.9
Jul3433182710.3
Aug323116279.7
Sep2826112510.0
Oct20184278.9
Nov1210-2167.4
Dec64-6176.1

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,562 m) and the rim (1,831 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

A Fremont Granary High in the Cliffs dyeclan.com - panoramio
The Dye Clan · CC BY-SA 3.0
CalfCreekCanyon-EsclanteNM
Cacophony · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lower Calf Creek Falls dyeclan.com - panoramio (3)
The Dye Clan · CC BY-SA 3.0

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202027%79%150%67%8%124%73%13%12%7%39%69%
202180%38%157%69%14%59%209%162%113%99%6%150%
202213%48%47%17%6%93%114%102%145%66%56%125%
2023218%109%212%46%176%145%45%168%121%21%63%25%
202492%185%255%73%36%155%31%208%12%67%80%13%
202518%20%58%83%90%124%33%44%52%133%137%87%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Calf Creek Canyon

United States

  • 221 mDepth
  • 2.3 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 22°Steepest wall

Death Hollow

United States · 12 km

  • 341 mDepth
  • 16 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 26°Steepest wall

See the guide

Horse Canyon

United States · 14 km

  • 154 mDepth
  • 1.7 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 29°Steepest wall

See the guide

Antelope Canyon

United States · 99 km

  • 144 mDepth
  • 11 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 10°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q1026653) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here