United States Canyon
American Fork Canyon
506 m of rock, cut by the American Fork River.
Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Edited slightly prior to uploac by Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 2.0
The cut
506 metres, to scale.
A slice through American Fork 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.
506m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
13.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
30°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,502m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
7 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 33 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May. The rim freezes at night from November to April. The wettest months are in April and in December.
- 2°-5°Jan
- 4°-2°Feb
- 10°3°Mar
- 14°7°Apr
- 21°14°May
- 28°21°Jun
- 33°26°Jul
- 32°25°Aug
- 26°19°Sep
- 17°10°Oct
- 9°2°Nov
- 2°-5°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 located in the Wasatch Range in Utah County, Utah, United States
American Fork Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the American Fork River. The relief model measures 506 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,040 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 14 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Cedar Hillsnearest town · 3.0 km in a straight line
- Parking 530 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 4.7 km from the floor
- Provo Municipal Airport (PVU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 24 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 American Fork River runs highest from January to May.
The American Fork River carries about 1.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from July to September.
- 2.7 m³/sJan
- 3.4 m³/sFeb
- 3.4 m³/sMar
- 3.3 m³/sApr
- 3.0 m³/sMay
- 1.7 m³/sJun
- 0.7 m³/sJul
- 0.4 m³/sAug
- 0.7 m³/sSep
- 1.0 m³/sOct
- 1.0 m³/sNov
- 2.1 m³/sDec
From about 0.43 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.4 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 183 km².
The American Fork 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.
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmGreat Western Trail - Utah
- 2climbing crags within 3 kmBeer Can Alley
- 7footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmAF Canyon Nature Trail and 6 more
- 2caves within 3 km
- 27car parks within 3 km
- 8information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1bus stops within 2 km
- 26campsites within 8 kmLittle Mill Campground, BL - Bears Lair, Site 7 and 23 more
- 2hotels and guesthouses within 8 km5th East Hall, Extended Stay Hotel
- 6restaurants 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
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
- Cedar Hills3.0 km in a straight line
- Alpine4.4 km in a straight line
- Highland5.3 km in a straight line
- Pleasant Grove7.7 km in a straight line
- American Fork8.2 km in a straight line
- Lindon10 km in a straight line
- Lehi11 km in a straight line
- Draper15 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around American Fork 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.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas18 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 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 33 | 32 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 2 |
| Afternoon · rim | -5 | -2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 26 | 25 | 19 | 10 | 2 | -5 |
| Night · rim | -14 | -11 | -7 | -4 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 6 | -1 | -7 | -14 |
| 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 | -5 | -14 | 56 | 5.4 |
| Feb | 4 | -2 | -11 | 47 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 10 | 3 | -7 | 54 | 7.8 |
| Apr | 14 | 7 | -4 | 63 | 8.6 |
| May | 21 | 14 | 2 | 54 | 9.9 |
| Jun | 28 | 21 | 7 | 27 | 12.7 |
| Jul | 33 | 26 | 12 | 19 | 12.3 |
| Aug | 32 | 25 | 11 | 26 | 11.0 |
| Sep | 26 | 19 | 6 | 38 | 9.8 |
| Oct | 17 | 10 | -1 | 44 | 7.8 |
| Nov | 9 | 2 | -7 | 46 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 2 | -5 | -14 | 68 | 4.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,502 m) and the rim (2,542 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.
American Fork Canyon
United States
- 506 mDepth
- 14 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 30°Steepest wall
Little Cottonwood Canyon
United States · 16 km
- 1,359 mDepth
- 8.5 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 45°Steepest wall
Big Cottonwood Canyon
United States · 23 km
- 1,054 mDepth
- 8.0 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 36°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q4743835) · 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.
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