United States jkbrooks85 · CC BY 2.0
The cut
1,529 metres, to scale.
A slice through Keystone 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.
1,529m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
39°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
70m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
11 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 15 °C on the floor, against 4 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from July to August. The rim freezes at night from September to June. The wettest months are from September to October.
- -4°-15°Jan
- -2°-13°Feb
- -1°-12°Mar
- 4°-7°Apr
- 8°-3°May
- 12°0°Jun
- 15°4°Jul
- 15°4°Aug
- 11°0°Sep
- 5°-6°Oct
- -2°-13°Nov
- -2°-14°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 Valdez–Cordova Census Area, Alaska, United States
Keystone Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Lowe River. The relief model measures 1,529 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 13 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Valdeznearest town · 25 km in a straight line
- Parking 840 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Keystone Canyonnearest viewpoint · 2.5 km from the floor
- Valdez Pioneer Field (VDZ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 20 km in a straight lineCar hire at ANC airport (Anchorage)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From July to Augustbest 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 Lowe River runs highest from June to July.
The Lowe River carries about 33 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from June to July, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from December to March.
- 3.7 m³/sJan
- 1.9 m³/sFeb
- 5.6 m³/sMar
- 20 m³/sApr
- 71 m³/sMay
- 118 m³/sJun
- 107 m³/sJul
- 83 m³/sAug
- 78 m³/sSep
- 61 m³/sOct
- 33 m³/sNov
- 13 m³/sDec
From about 1.9 m³/s in the lowest month to 118 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 538 km².
The Lowe 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.
N
6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 1viewpoints within 5 kmKeystone Canyon
- 3named waterfalls within 4 kmBridalveil Falls, Rudleston Falls, Horsetail Falls
- 7car parks within 3 km
- 2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges 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
- campsites within 8 km
- hotels and guesthouses within 8 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
- Valdez25 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Keystone 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
Peakyas3 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures 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 | -4 | -2 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 5 | -2 | -2 |
| Afternoon · rim | -15 | -13 | -12 | -7 | -3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | -6 | -13 | -14 |
| Night · rim | -20 | -20 | -20 | -13 | -7 | -3 | 0 | -1 | -4 | -11 | -18 | -18 |
| Rain (mm) | 242 | 202 | 163 | 144 | 148 | 135 | 191 | 264 | 341 | 301 | 258 | 283 |
| Rainy days | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 23 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.9 | 2.7 | 6.6 | 9.1 | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 222 | 269 | 294 | 289 | 208 | 81 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 39 | 90 | 161 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -4 | -15 | -20 | 242 | 0.9 |
| Feb | -2 | -13 | -20 | 202 | 2.7 |
| Mar | -1 | -12 | -20 | 163 | 6.6 |
| Apr | 4 | -7 | -13 | 144 | 9.1 |
| May | 8 | -3 | -7 | 148 | 8.3 |
| Jun | 12 | 0 | -3 | 135 | 7.9 |
| Jul | 15 | 4 | 0 | 191 | 7.3 |
| Aug | 15 | 4 | -1 | 264 | 6.1 |
| Sep | 11 | 0 | -4 | 341 | 4.4 |
| Oct | 5 | -6 | -11 | 301 | 2.0 |
| Nov | -2 | -13 | -18 | 258 | 1.0 |
| Dec | -2 | -14 | -18 | 283 | 0.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (70 m) and the rim (1,769 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 | 49% | 120% | 46% | 72% | 76% | 110% | 74% | 74% | 84% | 81% | 93% | 114% |
| 2021 | 109% | 43% | 73% | 77% | 126% | 111% | 72% | 111% | 78% | 95% | 83% | 51% |
| 2022 | 132% | 130% | 126% | 54% | 62% | 63% | 120% | 172% | 162% | 124% | 100% | 76% |
| 2023 | 102% | 80% | 71% | 80% | 139% | 183% | 83% | 156% | 111% | 88% | 148% | 143% |
| 2024 | 72% | 109% | 126% | 65% | 135% | 62% | 134% | 119% | 86% | 88% | 64% | 109% |
| 2025 | 204% | 59% | 69% | 210% | 121% | 131% | 59% | 82% | 96% | 125% | 97% | 37% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q17107335) · 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.
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