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Salt River Hydroelectric Powerplant, Etna, WY

United States United States Canyon

Snake River Canyon

963 m of rock, cut by the Snake River.

See the cutWhen to go

25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

963 metres, to scale.

A slice through Snake River 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.

2,700 m2,655 m963 m15 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 1.72,700 m2,655 m963 m15 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

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.

963m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

14.9km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

28°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

1,692m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

6 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in June and in September. The rim freezes at night from October to May. The wettest months are in December.

rim · 2,700 mfloor · 1,692 m
  1. -2°-8°Jan
  2. 0°-7°Feb
  3. 4°-2°Mar
  4. 11°4°Apr
  5. 17°11°May
  6. 23°17°Jun
  7. 29°22°Jul
  8. 28°21°Aug
  9. 22°16°Sep
  10. 13°6°Oct
  11. 5°-2°Nov
  12. -2°-8°Dec
Hike: Jun, SepFrost on the rim: Oct–MayWettest: 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 Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States

Snake River Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Snake River. The relief model measures 963 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 15 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

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 Snake River runs highest from April to May.

The Snake River carries about 79 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest in January and from August to November.

  1. 61 m³/sJan
  2. 74 m³/sFeb
  3. 156 m³/sMar
  4. 241 m³/sApr
  5. 246 m³/sMay
  6. 167 m³/sJun
  7. 80 m³/sJul
  8. 36 m³/sAug
  9. 33 m³/sSep
  10. 41 m³/sOct
  11. 60 m³/sNov
  12. 79 m³/sDec

From about 33 m³/s in the lowest month to 246 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 8,952 km².

Follow the Snake 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.

Snake River Canyon seen from above (Sentinel-2) 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.

  • 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
  • 3rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • 63car parks within 3 km
  • 4information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 11campsites within 8 kmWapiti Village RV Park, Hoffman Campgroud, Wolf Creek Campground and 8 more
  • 35hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmBull Moose Lodge, Three Rivers Motel, Rockin’ M Ranch and 32 more
  • 9restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • marked hiking routes within 4 km
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • climbing crags within 3 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

  • Hoback21 km in a straight line
  • Star Valley Ranch23 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Snake River 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.

Peakyas9 mountains within 15 km
Bitters Peak · 5.7 kmBlack Mountain · 9.5 kmBradley Mountain · 9.8 kmDeadhorse Peak · 9.8 kmRed Peak · 12 kmPaul Peak · 14 kmIndian Peak · 15 kmObservation Peak · 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soon
Palisades Reservoir60 km² · 5.5 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 · floor-204111723292822135-2
Afternoon · rim-8-7-2411172221166-2-8
Night · rim-19-18-13-8-41750-6-12-18
Rain (mm)726865656547243247536277
Rainy days151415141410878101215
Sun hours/day4.35.56.77.99.411.612.711.29.26.74.53.1
Snow on the ground (cm)485638176100291727
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan-2-8-19724.3
Feb0-7-18685.5
Mar4-2-13656.7
Apr114-8657.9
May1711-4659.4
Jun231714711.6
Jul292272412.7
Aug282153211.2
Sep22160479.2
Oct136-6536.7
Nov5-2-12624.5
Dec-2-8-18773.1

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,692 m) and the rim (2,700 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Ruins of Salt River Hydroelectric Powerplant, Wyoming, US
Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0
Salt River running through Star Valley, Wyoming, US
Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0
Alpine, Wyoming - panoramio
Jordan W. · CC BY-SA 3.0

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
2020109%71%115%83%83%203%72%14%39%32%85%33%
202143%85%36%52%69%11%133%178%49%187%48%90%
202247%8%35%94%81%63%18%140%82%54%127%88%
202389%76%130%64%83%158%76%200%143%104%51%70%
202493%116%139%50%72%42%57%118%68%39%48%94%
202542%117%98%41%76%15%70%108%64%137%30%133%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Snake River Canyon

United States

  • 963 mDepth
  • 15 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 28°Steepest wall

Open Canyon

United States · 52 km

  • 406 mDepth
  • 17 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 38°Steepest wall

See the guide

Death Canyon

United States · 56 km

  • 349 mDepth
  • 15 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 24°Steepest wall

See the guide

Avalanche Canyon

United States · 64 km

  • 491 mDepth
  • 19 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 32°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q7547072) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
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