United States Canyon
Indian Canyon
1,037 m of rock, cut by the Indian Canyon Creek.
E. & H.T. Anthony (Firm) -- Publisher · Public domain
The cut
1,037 metres, to scale.
A slice through Indian 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.
1,037m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
54°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,204m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
8 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 33 °C on the floor, against 25 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from November to April. The wettest months are from December to March.
- 9°1°Jan
- 9°1°Feb
- 12°4°Mar
- 15°8°Apr
- 22°14°May
- 28°21°Jun
- 33°25°Jul
- 32°24°Aug
- 28°20°Sep
- 22°14°Oct
- 14°7°Nov
- 9°1°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 Yosemite Valley, California
Indian Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Indian Canyon Creek. The relief model measures 1,037 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 4.0 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Yosemite Wilderness.
Getting there.
- Yosemite Valleynearest town · 1.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 280 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Lower Yosemite Fall Viewnearest viewpoint · 0.5 km from the floor
- Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 67 km in a straight lineCar hire at FAT airport (Fresno)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Octoberbest 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 Indian Canyon Creek runs highest from March to April.
The Indian Canyon Creek carries about 8.4 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to April, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from July to November.
- 8.8 m³/sJan
- 13 m³/sFeb
- 15 m³/sMar
- 18 m³/sApr
- 12 m³/sMay
- 5.6 m³/sJun
- 2.4 m³/sJul
- 1.5 m³/sAug
- 1.4 m³/sSep
- 2.4 m³/sOct
- 4.0 m³/sNov
- 9.1 m³/sDec
From about 1.4 m³/s in the lowest month to 18 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 753 km².
Follow the Merced River from source to mouth on Riveryas
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
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 36viewpoints within 5 kmGlacier Point, Sentinel Dome, Sierra Point and 33 more
- 11marked hiking routes within 4 kmJohn Muir Trail, Four Mile Trail, Theodore Solomons Trail and 8 more
- 63climbing crags within 3 kmMidnight Lightning, Ament Arete, Harry Daley Route and 60 more
- 23footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmLower Yosemite Fall Trail, Valley Loop Trail and 21 more
- 9named waterfalls within 4 kmVernal Fall, Silver Apron, Middle Cascades and 6 more
- 1caves within 3 km
- 28car parks within 3 km
- 37information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 14bus stops within 2 km
- 11campsites within 8 kmYosemite Valley Backpackers Campground, Little Yosemite Valley Campground, Camp 4 and 8 more
- 3hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAhwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Valley Lodge
- 8restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 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
- Yosemite Valley1.8 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Indian 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.
Cascadyas6 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas28 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 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 22 | 28 | 33 | 32 | 28 | 22 | 14 | 9 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 21 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 7 | 1 |
| Night · rim | -9 | -9 | -7 | -4 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 0 | -5 | -9 |
| Rain (mm) | 103 | 101 | 90 | 56 | 37 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 38 | 61 | 118 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 6.5 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 9.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 13.1 | 12.7 | 11.3 | 9.5 | 7.2 | 5.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 44 | 45 | 40 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 26 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 1 | -9 | 103 | 6.5 |
| Feb | 9 | 1 | -9 | 101 | 6.9 |
| Mar | 12 | 4 | -7 | 90 | 7.8 |
| Apr | 15 | 8 | -4 | 56 | 9.5 |
| May | 22 | 14 | 0 | 37 | 11.1 |
| Jun | 28 | 21 | 5 | 11 | 13.6 |
| Jul | 33 | 25 | 10 | 14 | 13.1 |
| Aug | 32 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 12.7 |
| Sep | 28 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 11.3 |
| Oct | 22 | 14 | 0 | 38 | 9.5 |
| Nov | 14 | 7 | -5 | 61 | 7.2 |
| Dec | 9 | 1 | -9 | 118 | 5.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,204 m) and the rim (2,394 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 | 23% | 3% | 89% | 156% | 83% | 129% | 46% | 73% | 10% | 0% | 58% | 48% |
| 2021 | 132% | 32% | 60% | 22% | 44% | 137% | 270% | 24% | 24% | 333% | 27% | 200% |
| 2022 | 0% | 5% | 24% | 61% | 7% | 47% | 49% | 303% | 293% | 9% | 133% | 261% |
| 2023 | 265% | 146% | 314% | 5% | 102% | 263% | 9% | 420% | 248% | 15% | 63% | 27% |
| 2024 | 90% | 175% | 182% | 70% | 63% | 76% | 201% | 151% | 190% | 36% | 124% | 54% |
| 2025 | 21% | 178% | 121% | 52% | 20% | 66% | 42% | 446% | 424% | 156% | 139% | 117% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Indian Canyon
United States
- 1,037 mDepth
- 4.0 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 54°Steepest wall
Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne
United States · 20 km
- 1,265 mDepth
- 6.9 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 48°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q27660094) · 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
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