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Avalanche Canyon GTNP1

United States United States Canyon

Avalanche Canyon

491 m of rock, cut by the Taggart Creek.

See the cutWhen to go

Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

491 metres, to scale.

A slice through Avalanche 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.

3,356 m2,508 m491 m19 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 1.43,356 m2,508 m491 m19 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 2.9

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.

491m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

19.0km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

32°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

2,017m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

9 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 27 °C on the floor, against 18 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from September to June. The wettest months are in December.

rim · 3,356 mfloor · 2,017 m
  1. -3°-12°Jan
  2. -2°-11°Feb
  3. 2°-7°Mar
  4. 7°-2°Apr
  5. 14°5°May
  6. 21°12°Jun
  7. 27°18°Jul
  8. 26°17°Aug
  9. 20°11°Sep
  10. 10°2°Oct
  11. 2°-6°Nov
  12. -3°-12°Dec
Hike: Jun–SepFrost on the rim: Sep–JunWettest: 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.

Gorge in Grand Teton National Park in the west of the U.S. state of Wyoming

Avalanche Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Taggart Creek. The relief model measures 491 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,339 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 19 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Moose Wilson Roadnearest town · 21 km in a straight line
  • Parking 190 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.7 km from the floor
  • Jackson Hole Airport (JAC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 11 km in a straight lineCar hire at JAC airport (Jackson)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From June to Septemberbest 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.

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.

Avalanche 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.

  • 7viewpoints within 5 kmBradley Lake and 6 more
  • 4marked hiking routes within 4 kmTaggart Lake Trail, Valley Trail, Bradley Lake Trail and 1 more
  • 7footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmTaggart Lake Trail, Valley Trail, Bradley Lake Trail and 4 more
  • 3named waterfalls within 4 kmBannock Falls, Cleft Falls, Shoshoko Falls
  • 1caves within 3 km
  • 4car parks within 3 km
  • 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 11campsites within 8 kmCaves, Garnet Meadows, Lower Saddle and 8 more
  • 2hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGrand Teton Climbers' Ranch, Dornans Spur Ranch Cabins
  • 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
  • bus stops within 2 km
  • restaurants and cafés 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

  • Moose Wilson Road21 km in a straight line
  • Wilson25 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Avalanche 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.

Cascadyas8 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Bannock Falls · 4.0 kmGlacier Falls · 4.4 kmCleft Falls · 5.0 kmShoshoko Falls · 5.8 kmBroken Falls · 5.9 kmSpalding Falls · 6.5 kmHidden Falls · 8.3 kmRibbon Cascade · 9.0 km
Peakyas38 mountains within 15 km
Nez Perce Peak3,627 m · 5.9 kmDisappointment Peak3,541 m · 6.6 kmCloudveil Dome3,666 m · 6.7 kmTeewinot Mountain3,758 m · 7.0 kmTeepe Pillar3,739 m · 7.2 kmMiddle Teton3,903 m · 7.5 kmGrand Teton4,199 m · 7.7 kmMount Owen3,940 m · 7.9 km
Lakeyas5 lakes within 15 kmComing soon
Taggart Lake0.4 km² · 2.0 kmBradley Lake0.2 km² · 3.0 kmPhelps Lake1.8 km² · 7.6 kmJenny Lake4.8 km² · 7.8 kmLeigh Lake4.0 km² · 13 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-3-2271421272620102-3
Afternoon · rim-12-11-7-25121817112-6-12
Night · rim-23-22-17-12-7-321-4-10-16-22
Rain (mm)696260636350243146546173
Rainy days151414141411778101215
Sun hours/day5.56.47.48.58.510.712.110.68.86.14.64.0
Snow on the ground (cm)5264522592002101830
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan-3-12-23695.5
Feb-2-11-22626.4
Mar2-7-17607.4
Apr7-2-12638.5
May145-7638.5
Jun2112-35010.7
Jul271822412.1
Aug261713110.6
Sep2011-4468.8
Oct102-10546.1
Nov2-6-16614.6
Dec-3-12-22734.0

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (2,017 m) and the rim (3,356 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020132%106%127%102%87%188%100%26%62%85%113%45%
202156%101%30%40%125%11%130%220%53%126%54%102%
202260%13%45%100%106%85%29%235%104%54%112%91%
202378%89%138%66%82%195%105%250%132%133%54%68%
2024103%138%158%56%92%45%60%131%89%37%59%100%
202553%170%110%65%97%25%92%119%89%160%46%194%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Avalanche Canyon

United States

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

Cascade Canyon

United States · 5 km

  • 374 mDepth
  • 17 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 42°Steepest wall

See the guide

Garnet Canyon

United States · 1 km

  • 434 mDepth
  • 19 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 34°Steepest wall

See the guide

Death Canyon

United States · 7 km

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

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q4827476) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
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