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Laguna Canyon, April 2011 - panoramio (2)

United States United States Canyon

Laguna Canyon

171 m of rock, cut by the Laguna Canyon Creek.

See the cutWhen to go

Kevin.Daniels · CC BY 3.0

The cut

171 metres, to scale.

A slice through Laguna 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.

177 m255 m171 m8.0 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0177 m255 m171 m8.0 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

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.

171m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

8.0km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

26°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

6m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

Afternoons, up top and down below.

In August the afternoon reaches 30 °C. The best months to hike are from March to April and from November to January. The wettest months are from December to February.

rim · 255 mfloor · 6 m
  1. 19°18°Jan
  2. 19°18°Feb
  3. 21°19°Mar
  4. 22°20°Apr
  5. 23°22°May
  6. 26°24°Jun
  7. 29°28°Jul
  8. 30°28°Aug
  9. 29°28°Sep
  10. 26°24°Oct
  11. 23°21°Nov
  12. 19°17°Dec
Hike: Mar–Apr, Nov–JanWettest: 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.

Landform

Laguna Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Laguna Canyon Creek. The relief model measures 171 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 249 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 8.0 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Laguna Beachnearest town · 3.0 km in a straight line
  • Parking 270 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.2 km from the floor
  • John Wayne Orange County International Airport (SNA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 16 km in a straight lineCar hire at SNA airport (Santa Ana)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From March to April and from November to Januarybest 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.

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.

Laguna Canyon seen from above (Sentinel-2) 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.

  • 21viewpoints within 5 kmTop of the World, Joseph R. Sweany Bench and 19 more
  • 17footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmWood Creek Trail, Emerald Canyon Road, Meadows Trail and 14 more
  • 3caves within 3 km
  • 91car parks within 3 km
  • 31information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 14bus stops within 2 km
  • 4campsites within 8 kmDeer Canyon Campground, Upper Moro Campground, Lower Moro Campground and 1 more
  • 41hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLaguna Beach Motor Inn, The Ranch at Laguna Beach, ev and 38 more
  • 73restaurants 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

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

  • Laguna Beach3.0 km in a straight line
  • Aliso Viejo3.6 km in a straight line
  • Laguna Woods6.3 km in a straight line
  • Laguna Hills7.2 km in a straight line
  • Laguna Niguel7.2 km in a straight line
  • San Joaquin Hills8.4 km in a straight line
  • Mission Viejo9.5 km in a straight line
  • Turtle Rock9.6 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Laguna 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.

Peakyas5 mountains within 15 km
Temple Hill · 2.9 kmNiguel Hill · 5.8 kmSignal Peak356 m · 7.4 kmPelican Hill · 7.4 kmFrench Hill · 12 km
Coastya10 beaches within 15 km
Main Beachsea up to 21 °C · 0.2 kmArch Beachsea up to 21 °C · 3.1 kmVictoria Beachsea up to 21 °C · 3.7 kmCoast Royale Beachsea up to 21 °C · 5.4 kmChina Cove Beachsea up to 21 °C · 11 kmBalboa Beachsea up to 21 °C · 12 kmNorth Star Beachsea up to 21 °C · 14 kmNewport Beachsea up to 21 °C · 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 · floor191921222326293029262319
Afternoon · rim181819202224282828242117
Night · rim991011121417181715129
Rain (mm)5768322081434162660
Rainy days786320111246
Sun hours/day7.17.89.010.110.311.011.411.410.28.67.76.7
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan19189577.1
Feb19189687.8
Mar211910329.0
Apr2220112010.1
May232212810.3
Jun262414111.0
Jul292817411.4
Aug302818311.4
Sep292817410.2
Oct262415168.6
Nov232112267.7
Dec19179606.7

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (6 m) and the rim (255 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202014%17%330%485%24%————5%45%47%
202180%3%116%12%15%————121%0%228%
20225%15%104%29%4%————62%188%106%
2023287%119%523%11%171%————7%78%57%
2024100%301%274%70%40%————4%12%2%
202525%97%209%27%79%————117%369%108%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Laguna Canyon

United States

  • 171 mDepth
  • 8.0 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 26°Steepest wall

Bommer Canyon

United States · 13 km

  • 103 mDepth
  • 17 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 6°Steepest wall

See the guide

Silverado Canyon

United States · 28 km

  • 405 mDepth
  • 5.3 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 32°Steepest wall

See the guide

Laurel Canyon

United States · 82 km

  • 135 mDepth
  • 23 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 24°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q981020) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
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