United States Canyon World Heritage
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
301 m of rock, cut by the Yellowstone River.
Brocken Inaglory · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
301 metres, to scale.
A slice through Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone 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.
301m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
1.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
42°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
2,118m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
2 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from October to April. The wettest months are in December.
- -5°-7°Jan
- -4°-6°Feb
- 0°-2°Mar
- 4°2°Apr
- 12°10°May
- 18°16°Jun
- 24°22°Jul
- 24°22°Aug
- 18°16°Sep
- 8°6°Oct
- 0°-2°Nov
- -5°-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 on the Yellowstone River in Park County, Wyoming, United States
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is a canyon in United States, cut by the Yellowstone River. The relief model measures 301 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 1.7 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Yellowstone National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there.
- Parking 390 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Inspiration Pointnearest viewpoint · 0.4 km from the floor
- Yellowstone Airport (WYS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 49 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.
The river
The Yellowstone River runs highest from April to May.
The Yellowstone River carries about 25 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from August to October and from December to February.
- 7.7 m³/sJan
- 9.9 m³/sFeb
- 27 m³/sMar
- 66 m³/sApr
- 71 m³/sMay
- 48 m³/sJun
- 22 m³/sJul
- 12 m³/sAug
- 11 m³/sSep
- 14 m³/sOct
- 21 m³/sNov
- 16 m³/sDec
From about 7.7 m³/s in the lowest month to 71 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 2,967 km².
Follow the Yellowstone 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
1.2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.0 × 5.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 35viewpoints within 5 kmArtist Point, Inspiration Point, Grand View and 32 more
- 6marked hiking routes within 4 kmCasecade Lake Trail, Grebe Lake Trail, Observation Peak Trail and 3 more
- 17footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBrink of Lower Falls Trail, Red Point Trail, North Rim Trail and 14 more
- 4named waterfalls within 4 kmCrystal Falls, Upper Yellowstone Falls, Lower Yellowstone Falls and 1 more
- 31car parks within 3 km
- 16information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 22campsites within 8 kmWolf Lake, Wolf Lake Outlet, Yurt Winter Camp and 19 more
- 8hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCanyon Lodge & Cabins, Cascade Lodge, Dunraven Lodge and 5 more
- 5restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- 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
- 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
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.
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas5 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas3 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 | -4 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 24 | 18 | 8 | 0 | -5 |
| Afternoon · rim | -7 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 6 | -2 | -7 |
| Night · rim | -17 | -17 | -12 | -8 | -2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 2 | -5 | -12 | -17 |
| Rain (mm) | 81 | 75 | 77 | 82 | 81 | 70 | 37 | 40 | 52 | 69 | 79 | 91 |
| Rainy days | 18 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 18 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.1 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 10.1 | 12.1 | 10.3 | 8.4 | 5.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 69 | 84 | 81 | 42 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 42 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -5 | -7 | -17 | 81 | 4.1 |
| Feb | -4 | -6 | -17 | 75 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 0 | -2 | -12 | 77 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 4 | 2 | -8 | 82 | 8.0 |
| May | 12 | 10 | -2 | 81 | 8.1 |
| Jun | 18 | 16 | 3 | 70 | 10.1 |
| Jul | 24 | 22 | 8 | 37 | 12.1 |
| Aug | 24 | 22 | 7 | 40 | 10.3 |
| Sep | 18 | 16 | 2 | 52 | 8.4 |
| Oct | 8 | 6 | -5 | 69 | 5.5 |
| Nov | 0 | -2 | -12 | 79 | 3.9 |
| Dec | -5 | -7 | -17 | 91 | 3.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (2,118 m) and the rim (2,438 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 | 109% | 90% | 113% | 81% | 109% | 157% | 89% | 47% | 59% | 98% | 98% | 41% |
| 2021 | 66% | 97% | 45% | 34% | 105% | 11% | 86% | 181% | 46% | 87% | 58% | 111% |
| 2022 | 46% | 20% | 33% | 91% | 132% | 130% | 38% | 131% | 94% | 73% | 102% | 91% |
| 2023 | 54% | 86% | 125% | 63% | 63% | 167% | 67% | 248% | 119% | 118% | 50% | 56% |
| 2024 | 59% | 115% | 131% | 66% | 90% | 56% | 66% | 105% | 113% | 37% | 56% | 72% |
| 2025 | 53% | 147% | 89% | 67% | 74% | 51% | 70% | 111% | 73% | 128% | 37% | 179% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
United States
- 301 mDepth
- 1.7 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 42°Steepest wall
Golden Gate Canyon
United States · 31 km
- 478 mDepth
- 5.7 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 31°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1542533) · 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
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
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