United States Canyon
Snake River Canyon
168 m of rock, cut by the Snake River.
Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
168 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.
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.
168m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
2.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
27°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
952m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 37 °C. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The floor passes 35 °C in July: walk at dawn and carry water. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are from April to May and from December to January.
- 5°4°Jan
- 7°6°Feb
- 13°12°Mar
- 17°16°Apr
- 23°22°May
- 30°28°Jun
- 37°36°Jul
- 35°34°Aug
- 28°27°Sep
- 19°18°Oct
- 11°10°Nov
- 5°4°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.
Large canyon formed by the Snake River in the Magic Valley region of southern Idaho
Snake River Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Snake River. The relief model measures 168 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 2.8 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Twin Fallsnearest town · 5.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 710 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.0 km from the floor
- Joslin Field Magic Valley Regional Airport (TWF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 14 km in a straight lineCar hire at TWF airport (Twin Falls)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Octoberbest 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 Snake River runs highest from February to May.
The Snake River carries about 297 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from February to May. It is lowest from August to October.
- 503 m³/sJan
- 564 m³/sFeb
- 631 m³/sMar
- 661 m³/sApr
- 645 m³/sMay
- 432 m³/sJun
- 230 m³/sJul
- 105 m³/sAug
- 106 m³/sSep
- 172 m³/sOct
- 232 m³/sNov
- 373 m³/sDec
From about 105 m³/s in the lowest month to 661 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 53,829 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.
N
1.5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 9viewpoints within 5 kmShoshone Falls Observation Deck and 8 more
- 3climbing crags within 3 kmPocket Warmup Boulder, HoneyComb Boulder, Cobra Boulder
- 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmCanyon Rim Trail and 3 more
- 2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 1swimming spots within 3 km
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmShoshone Falls, Pillar Falls
- 15car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmMagic Valley Mobile Home Estates, Twin Falls / Jerome KOA, Rock Creek RV Park
- 32hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmWeston Inn, Twin Falls Motel, Kimberly Road Extended Stay and 29 more
- 30restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes 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
- Twin Falls5.5 km in a straight line
- Kimberly8.2 km in a straight line
- Hansen12 km in a straight line
- Filer16 km in a straight line
- Jerome16 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.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas2 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 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 23 | 30 | 37 | 35 | 28 | 19 | 11 | 5 |
| Afternoon · rim | 4 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 22 | 28 | 36 | 34 | 27 | 18 | 10 | 4 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 4 | -1 | -5 |
| Rain (mm) | 42 | 31 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 29 | 34 | 54 |
| Rainy days | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.7 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 8.7 | 10.4 | 12.3 | 12.6 | 11.4 | 9.9 | 7.8 | 5.4 | 3.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 17 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 16 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 4 | -6 | 42 | 4.7 |
| Feb | 7 | 6 | -4 | 31 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 13 | 12 | 0 | 40 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 17 | 16 | 2 | 44 | 8.7 |
| May | 23 | 22 | 7 | 45 | 10.4 |
| Jun | 30 | 28 | 12 | 21 | 12.3 |
| Jul | 37 | 36 | 18 | 10 | 12.6 |
| Aug | 35 | 34 | 17 | 14 | 11.4 |
| Sep | 28 | 27 | 12 | 19 | 9.9 |
| Oct | 19 | 18 | 4 | 29 | 7.8 |
| Nov | 11 | 10 | -1 | 34 | 5.4 |
| Dec | 5 | 4 | -5 | 54 | 3.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (952 m) and the rim (1,120 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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 | 126% | 61% | 88% | 48% | 86% | 243% | 74% | 28% | 18% | 40% | 102% | 33% |
| 2021 | 55% | 122% | 48% | 21% | 41% | 16% | 186% | 95% | 58% | 248% | 71% | 85% |
| 2022 | 87% | 17% | 36% | 72% | 114% | 70% | 27% | 78% | 56% | 64% | 112% | 85% |
| 2023 | 77% | 84% | 133% | 32% | 120% | 180% | 53% | 225% | 216% | 129% | 112% | 75% |
| 2024 | 142% | 166% | 152% | 39% | 65% | 62% | 74% | 50% | 73% | 39% | 71% | 133% |
| 2025 | 47% | 202% | 79% | 16% | 50% | 10% | 94% | 162% | 126% | 127% | 21% | 115% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Snake River Canyon
United States
- 168 mDepth
- 2.8 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 27°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q7547071) · 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
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.
beaches
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Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here