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Leslie Gulch landscape, Malheur County, Oregon, 2009

United States United States Canyon

Leslie Gulch

532 m of rock, cut by the Owyhee River.

See the cutWhen to go

Bureau of Land Management · Public domain

The cut

532 metres, to scale.

A slice through Leslie Gulch where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

1,333 m1,401 m532 m7.7 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 1.41,333 m1,401 m532 m7.7 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

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.

532m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

7.7km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

31°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

802m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

4 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 36 °C on the floor, against 32 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The floor passes 35 °C in July: walk at dawn and carry water. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are in December.

rim · 1,401 mfloor · 802 m
  1. 5°1°Jan
  2. 8°4°Feb
  3. 14°10°Mar
  4. 18°14°Apr
  5. 24°20°May
  6. 29°25°Jun
  7. 36°32°Jul
  8. 34°30°Aug
  9. 28°24°Sep
  10. 19°15°Oct
  11. 10°7°Nov
  12. 5°1°Dec
Hike: Apr–May, OctFloor above 35 °C: JulFrost on the rim: Nov–MarWettest: 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 Malheur County, Oregon, United States of America

Leslie Gulch is a canyon in United States, cut by the Owyhee River. The relief model measures 532 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 7.7 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

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 Owyhee River runs highest from February to May.

The Owyhee River carries about 30 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from February to May. It is lowest from July to October.

  1. 74 m³/sJan
  2. 101 m³/sFeb
  3. 124 m³/sMar
  4. 118 m³/sApr
  5. 102 m³/sMay
  6. 60 m³/sJun
  7. 29 m³/sJul
  8. 4.4 m³/sAug
  9. 1.2 m³/sSep
  10. 14 m³/sOct
  11. 31 m³/sNov
  12. 57 m³/sDec

From about 1.2 m³/s in the lowest month to 124 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 25,122 km².

The Owyhee 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.

Leslie Gulch seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 4 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 17 × 17 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • 1campsites within 8 kmSlocum Creek Campground
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • marked hiking routes within 4 km
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km
  • car parks within 3 km
  • information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • bus stops within 2 km
  • hotels and guesthouses within 8 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).

In our other atlases

What else is around Leslie Gulch.

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
Owyhee River557 km · 28 m³/s
Peakyas13 mountains within 15 km
North Table Mountain · 6.3 kmActon Butte · 8.9 kmRed Butte · 9.5 kmAtkins Butte · 10 kmBlack Butte · 11 kmMahogany Mountain1,989 m · 12 kmDiamond Butte · 12 kmRocky Butte · 13 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soon
Owyhee Reservoir40 km² · 9.7 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 · floor581418242936342819105
Afternoon · rim14101420253230241571
Night · rim-8-6-3059151492-4-7
Rain (mm)3223302736227612212642
Rainy days9788862235810
Sun hours/day3.45.26.88.910.312.013.211.79.97.65.02.9
Snow on the ground (cm)171373000001815
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan51-8323.4
Feb84-6235.2
Mar1410-3306.8
Apr18140278.9
May242053610.3
Jun292592212.0
Jul363215713.2
Aug343014611.7
Sep28249129.9
Oct19152217.6
Nov107-4265.0
Dec51-7422.9

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (802 m) and the rim (1,401 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020136%66%98%52%154%259%82%66%8%50%147%42%
2021101%177%32%51%61%74%132%134%130%167%78%98%
202274%26%34%146%106%162%4%215%38%61%125%162%
202379%48%256%84%143%224%13%620%75%94%99%111%
2024258%177%148%108%94%68%74%66%135%77%217%200%
202598%386%90%51%63%28%351%272%152%130%62%153%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Leslie Gulch

United States

  • 532 mDepth
  • 7.7 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 31°Steepest wall

Hells Canyon

United States · 234 km

  • 1,690 mDepth
  • 12 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 46°Steepest wall

See the guide

Snake River Canyon

United States · 248 km

  • 168 mDepth
  • 2.8 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 27°Steepest wall

See the guide

Wallula Gap

United States · 328 km

  • 326 mDepth
  • 14 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 32°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q6530855) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
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