Canada RhodeenKayre · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
1,401 metres, to scale.
A slice through Maligne 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.
1,401m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
15.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
42°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,011m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
9 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 13 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from July to August. The rim freezes at night from September to May. The wettest months are from June to July.
- -3°-12°Jan
- -2°-11°Feb
- 2°-7°Mar
- 7°-2°Apr
- 14°5°May
- 19°9°Jun
- 22°13°Jul
- 21°12°Aug
- 16°6°Sep
- 8°-1°Oct
- 1°-9°Nov
- -4°-13°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.
Valley in Alberta, Canada
Maligne Canyon is a canyon in Canada, cut by the Maligne River. The relief model measures 1,401 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 15 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Jasper Park Lodgenearest town · 4.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 710 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.6 km from the floor
- Whitecourt Airport (YZU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 200 km in a straight lineCar hire at YZU airport (Whitecourt)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 Maligne River runs highest from May to July.
The Maligne River carries about 9.8 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to July, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from October to March.
- 2.6 m³/sJan
- 1.9 m³/sFeb
- 6.1 m³/sMar
- 16 m³/sApr
- 28 m³/sMay
- 32 m³/sJun
- 26 m³/sJul
- 17 m³/sAug
- 10 m³/sSep
- 5.4 m³/sOct
- 5.8 m³/sNov
- 2.6 m³/sDec
From about 1.9 m³/s in the lowest month to 32 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 899 km².
The Snaring 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.
- 17viewpoints within 5 km
- 4marked hiking routes within 4 kmOverlander Trail, GDT eic, Maligne Canyon and 1 more
- 2climbing crags within 3 kmRock Gardens
- 7footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBridge No 2, Bridge No 4, Bridge No 1 and 4 more
- 10car parks within 3 km
- 9information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmSignal Campground, Whistlers Campground
- 26hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAstoria Hotel, Patricia Lake Bungalows, Japanese Adult Learning Centre and 23 more
- 2restaurants 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 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
- Jasper Park Lodge4.8 km in a straight line
- Jasper6.5 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Maligne 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.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas22 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas8 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 | -3 | -2 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 8 | 1 | -4 |
| Afternoon · rim | -12 | -11 | -7 | -2 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 6 | -1 | -9 | -13 |
| Night · rim | -20 | -21 | -17 | -12 | -6 | -2 | 1 | 0 | -4 | -10 | -16 | -21 |
| Rain (mm) | 34 | 29 | 46 | 50 | 69 | 103 | 99 | 68 | 58 | 47 | 43 | 28 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.2 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 32 | 37 | 40 | 31 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 26 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -3 | -12 | -20 | 34 | 2.2 |
| Feb | -2 | -11 | -21 | 29 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 2 | -7 | -17 | 46 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 7 | -2 | -12 | 50 | 6.8 |
| May | 14 | 5 | -6 | 69 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 19 | 9 | -2 | 103 | 6.8 |
| Jul | 22 | 13 | 1 | 99 | 7.7 |
| Aug | 21 | 12 | 0 | 68 | 7.2 |
| Sep | 16 | 6 | -4 | 58 | 5.4 |
| Oct | 8 | -1 | -10 | 47 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 1 | -9 | -16 | 43 | 1.8 |
| Dec | -4 | -13 | -21 | 28 | 2.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,011 m) and the rim (2,445 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 | 169% | 140% | 95% | 82% | 117% | 128% | 130% | 82% | 72% | 143% | 112% | 106% |
| 2021 | 96% | 133% | 74% | 75% | 123% | 56% | 50% | 142% | 72% | 73% | 142% | 182% |
| 2022 | 136% | 133% | 100% | 74% | 80% | 160% | 54% | 124% | 47% | 67% | 120% | 111% |
| 2023 | 74% | 161% | 48% | 73% | 129% | 143% | 78% | 144% | 79% | 43% | 53% | 78% |
| 2024 | 113% | 156% | 79% | 103% | 125% | 85% | 49% | 124% | 117% | 139% | 83% | 119% |
| 2025 | 83% | 71% | 168% | 75% | 122% | 91% | 107% | 130% | 95% | 102% | 95% | 249% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Maligne Canyon
Canada
- 1,401 mDepth
- 15 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 42°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q6743519) · 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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