United States Canyon
Box Canyon
1,086 m of rock, cut by the Uncompahgre River.
Jaknelaps · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
1,086 metres, to scale.
A slice through Box 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: 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.
1,086m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
7.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
46°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
2,316m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
8 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 27 °C on the floor, against 19 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in June and in September. The rim freezes at night from October to May.
- 1°-7°Jan
- 1°-7°Feb
- 6°-3°Mar
- 11°3°Apr
- 17°9°May
- 25°17°Jun
- 27°19°Jul
- 25°17°Aug
- 21°13°Sep
- 14°6°Oct
- 7°-1°Nov
- 1°-7°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 Ouray County, Colorado, United States
Box Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Uncompahgre River. The relief model measures 1,086 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,266 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 7.9 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Ouraynearest town · 0.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 240 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.1 km from the floor
- Telluride Regional Airport (TEX)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 21 km in a straight lineCar hire at TEX airport (Telluride)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In June and in 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.
The river
The Uncompahgre River runs highest from March to May.
The Uncompahgre River carries about 0.72 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to May, fed by melting snow.
- 0.6 m³/sJan
- 1.1 m³/sFeb
- 2.0 m³/sMar
- 2.8 m³/sApr
- 2.3 m³/sMay
- 0.9 m³/sJun
- 0.7 m³/sJul
- 0.8 m³/sAug
- 1.0 m³/sSep
- 0.4 m³/sOct
- 0.1 m³/sNov
- 0.7 m³/sDec
From about 0.15 m³/s in the lowest month to 2.8 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 119 km².
The Uncompahgre 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
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 18 × 18 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 7viewpoints within 5 kmBridge of Heaven, Look Out Point and 5 more
- 12marked hiking routes within 4 kmOuray Perimeter Trail, Lower Cascade Falls Trail, Upper Cascade Falls Trail and 9 more
- 18climbing crags within 3 kmPeak Mountain Guides, Basecamp, Five Fingers and 15 more
- 9footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBox Canyon Footbridge, Perimeter Trail, Uncompahgre River Walk and 6 more
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmCascade Falls, Bear Creek Falls
- 21car parks within 3 km
- 6information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 10campsites within 8 kmOuray RV park, Four J Campground, Amphitheatre Campground and 7 more
- 27hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmOuray Hostel, Ouray Riverside Inn and Cabins, Black Bear Manor and 24 more
- 15restaurants 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
- 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
- Ouray0.8 km in a straight line
- Telluride15 km in a straight line
- Mountain Village18 km in a straight line
- Silverton23 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Box 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
Peakyas43 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 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 1 |
| Afternoon · rim | -7 | -7 | -3 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 6 | -1 | -7 |
| Night · rim | -19 | -19 | -15 | -10 | -5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | -1 | -7 | -13 | -19 |
| Rain (mm) | 45 | 46 | 40 | 45 | 40 | 20 | 56 | 55 | 55 | 45 | 43 | 53 |
| Rainy days | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Sun hours/day | 6.7 | 7.3 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 10.2 | 12.6 | 10.6 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 8.3 | 7.0 | 6.1 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 28 | 31 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 21 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | -7 | -19 | 45 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 1 | -7 | -19 | 46 | 7.3 |
| Mar | 6 | -3 | -15 | 40 | 9.2 |
| Apr | 11 | 3 | -10 | 45 | 9.4 |
| May | 17 | 9 | -5 | 40 | 10.2 |
| Jun | 25 | 17 | 0 | 20 | 12.6 |
| Jul | 27 | 19 | 4 | 56 | 10.6 |
| Aug | 25 | 17 | 2 | 55 | 9.7 |
| Sep | 21 | 13 | -1 | 55 | 9.5 |
| Oct | 14 | 6 | -7 | 45 | 8.3 |
| Nov | 7 | -1 | -13 | 43 | 7.0 |
| Dec | 1 | -7 | -19 | 53 | 6.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (2,316 m) and the rim (3,582 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 | 70% | 55% | 118% | 38% | 41% | 121% | 100% | 36% | 51% | 33% | 135% | 77% |
| 2021 | 73% | 82% | 125% | 36% | 118% | 137% | 143% | 73% | 62% | 101% | 30% | 171% |
| 2022 | 27% | 97% | 105% | 46% | 32% | 264% | 198% | 111% | 70% | 125% | 92% | 122% |
| 2023 | 155% | 132% | 227% | 79% | 97% | 143% | 18% | 88% | 63% | 79% | 64% | 71% |
| 2024 | 112% | 125% | 170% | 66% | 98% | 331% | 63% | 193% | 74% | 162% | 157% | 52% |
| 2025 | 47% | 94% | 103% | 76% | 70% | 193% | 55% | 59% | 120% | 260% | 89% | 52% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Box Canyon
United States
- 1,086 mDepth
- 7.9 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 46°Steepest wall
Rattlesnake Canyon
United States · 164 km
- 236 mDepth
- 3.6 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 16°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q4951488) · 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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