United States Eric Ward from Provo, UT, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
The cut
705 metres, to scale.
A slice through Provo 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: Great Pyramid · 139 m · Empire State · 443 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
705m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
16.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
37°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,472m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
5 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 34 °C on the floor, against 29 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are in April and in December.
- 2°-2°Jan
- 5°0°Feb
- 10°5°Mar
- 14°10°Apr
- 21°16°May
- 28°23°Jun
- 34°29°Jul
- 32°27°Aug
- 26°21°Sep
- 17°12°Oct
- 9°4°Nov
- 2°-2°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 Utah and Wasatch counties in Utah, United States
Provo Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Provo River. The relief model measures 705 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 17 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Oremnearest town · 6.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 670 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.8 km from the floor
- Provo Municipal Airport (PVU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 15 km in a straight lineCar hire at PVU airport (Provo)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In Maybest 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 Provo River runs highest from January to May.
The Provo River carries about 9.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from July to September.
- 29 m³/sJan
- 37 m³/sFeb
- 38 m³/sMar
- 37 m³/sApr
- 33 m³/sMay
- 17 m³/sJun
- 6.0 m³/sJul
- 2.7 m³/sAug
- 6.0 m³/sSep
- 9.4 m³/sOct
- 9.3 m³/sNov
- 23 m³/sDec
From about 2.7 m³/s in the lowest month to 38 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,705 km².
The Provo 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.
- 7viewpoints within 5 kmSlide Canyon Viewpoint, KhPeak Overlook and 5 more
- 2marked hiking routes within 4 kmGreat Western Trail - Utah, Provo River Parkway
- 10footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 6named waterfalls within 4 kmUpper Bridal Veil Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Lost Creek Falls and 3 more
- 52car parks within 3 km
- 6information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmProvo School District Camp, Hope Campground, Rock Canyon Campground and 5 more
- 11hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmThe Crestwood, Residence Inn Provo, Hampton Inn and Suites Orem and 8 more
- 10restaurants and cafés 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
- 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
- Orem6.8 km in a straight line
- Lindon8.2 km in a straight line
- Pleasant Grove10 km in a straight line
- Vineyard11 km in a straight line
- Provo11 km in a straight line
- Cedar Hills15 km in a straight line
- American Fork15 km in a straight line
- Highland18 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Provo 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
Cascadyas4 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas17 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 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 34 | 32 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 2 |
| Afternoon · rim | -2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 23 | 29 | 27 | 21 | 12 | 4 | -2 |
| Night · rim | -11 | -9 | -4 | -2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 1 | -5 | -11 |
| Rain (mm) | 56 | 47 | 54 | 63 | 54 | 27 | 19 | 26 | 38 | 44 | 46 | 68 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 5.4 | 6.4 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 9.9 | 12.7 | 12.3 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 7.8 | 5.7 | 4.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 22 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 19 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | -2 | -11 | 56 | 5.4 |
| Feb | 5 | 0 | -9 | 47 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 10 | 5 | -4 | 54 | 7.8 |
| Apr | 14 | 10 | -2 | 63 | 8.6 |
| May | 21 | 16 | 4 | 54 | 9.9 |
| Jun | 28 | 23 | 9 | 27 | 12.7 |
| Jul | 34 | 29 | 15 | 19 | 12.3 |
| Aug | 32 | 27 | 13 | 26 | 11.0 |
| Sep | 26 | 21 | 8 | 38 | 9.8 |
| Oct | 17 | 12 | 1 | 44 | 7.8 |
| Nov | 9 | 4 | -5 | 46 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 2 | -2 | -11 | 68 | 4.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,472 m) and the rim (2,202 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 | 91% | 77% | 84% | 34% | 26% | 184% | 23% | 4% | 10% | 25% | 57% | 44% |
| 2021 | 58% | 134% | 75% | 60% | 32% | 29% | 136% | 287% | 45% | 244% | 44% | 143% |
| 2022 | 39% | 35% | 80% | 57% | 88% | 65% | 51% | 158% | 71% | 70% | 144% | 138% |
| 2023 | 215% | 89% | 206% | 58% | 46% | 137% | 62% | 191% | 100% | 71% | 82% | 33% |
| 2024 | 88% | 252% | 188% | 66% | 105% | 20% | 41% | 215% | 27% | 102% | 103% | 82% |
| 2025 | 65% | 135% | 165% | 51% | 71% | 2% | 41% | 110% | 51% | 172% | 50% | 82% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Provo Canyon
United States
- 705 mDepth
- 17 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 37°Steepest wall
American Fork Canyon
United States · 16 km
- 506 mDepth
- 14 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 30°Steepest wall
Little Cottonwood Canyon
United States · 29 km
- 1,359 mDepth
- 8.5 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 45°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q7252773) · 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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