United States Lee Adlaf from Birmingham, AL, USA · CC BY 2.0
The cut
109 metres, to scale.
A slice through Sabino 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: Big Ben · 96 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.
109m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
25°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
785m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In June the afternoon reaches 39 °C on the floor, against 35 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from November to March. The floor passes 35 °C from June to August: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are from July to August.
- 17°13°Jan
- 19°15°Feb
- 24°19°Mar
- 28°24°Apr
- 33°29°May
- 39°35°Jun
- 37°33°Jul
- 36°32°Aug
- 35°30°Sep
- 29°25°Oct
- 23°18°Nov
- 17°13°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.
A significant canyon located in the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Coronado National Forest
Sabino Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Bird Canyon river. The relief model measures 109 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 660 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 13 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Catalina Foothillsnearest town · 9.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,700 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 8.1 km from the floor
- Tucson International Airport (TUS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 25 km in a straight lineCar hire at TUS airport (Tucson)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From November to Marchbest 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 Bird Canyon runs highest from January to February and from July to August.
The Bird Canyon carries about 0.05 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to February and from July to August. It is lowest from April to June.
- 0.1 m³/sJan
- 0.1 m³/sFeb
- 0.1 m³/sMar
- 0.0 m³/sApr
- 0.0 m³/sMay
- 0.0 m³/sJun
- 0.1 m³/sJul
- 0.2 m³/sAug
- 0.1 m³/sSep
- 0.1 m³/sOct
- 0.1 m³/sNov
- 0.1 m³/sDec
From about 0.01 m³/s in the lowest month to 0.16 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 106 km².
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
- 8footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBajada Loop Nature Trail #38 and 7 more
- 211car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 11bus stops within 2 km
- 85hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmWoodSpring Suites, Lodge at Ventana Canyon, Loews Ventana Canyon Resort and 82 more
- 6restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- marked hiking routes 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- campsites within 8 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
- Catalina Foothills9.8 km in a straight line
- Tanque Verde10 km in a straight line
- Tucson15 km in a straight line
- Oro Valley16 km in a straight line
- Casas Adobes17 km in a straight line
- Flowing Wells18 km in a straight line
- South Tucson19 km in a straight line
- Tortolita22 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Sabino 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.
Peakyas14 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 | 17 | 19 | 24 | 28 | 33 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 29 | 23 | 17 |
| Afternoon · rim | 13 | 15 | 19 | 24 | 29 | 35 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 25 | 18 | 13 |
| Night · rim | -1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 10 | 4 | -1 |
| Rain (mm) | 28 | 25 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 65 | 54 | 34 | 16 | 16 | 28 |
| Rainy days | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Sun hours/day | 7.9 | 8.7 | 10.4 | 12.2 | 13.3 | 13.4 | 10.2 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 8.7 | 7.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | 13 | -1 | 28 | 7.9 |
| Feb | 19 | 15 | 1 | 25 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 24 | 19 | 4 | 16 | 10.4 |
| Apr | 28 | 24 | 7 | 8 | 12.2 |
| May | 33 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 13.3 |
| Jun | 39 | 35 | 18 | 8 | 13.4 |
| Jul | 37 | 33 | 20 | 65 | 10.2 |
| Aug | 36 | 32 | 19 | 54 | 9.9 |
| Sep | 35 | 30 | 16 | 34 | 9.8 |
| Oct | 29 | 25 | 10 | 16 | 9.9 |
| Nov | 23 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 8.7 |
| Dec | 17 | 13 | -1 | 28 | 7.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (785 m) and the rim (1,445 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 | 66% | 124% | 230% | 21% | — | 16% | 39% | 45% | 12% | 12% | 33% | 39% |
| 2021 | 88% | 3% | 78% | 50% | — | 52% | 249% | 199% | 104% | 50% | 7% | 186% |
| 2022 | 40% | 25% | 66% | 0% | — | 312% | 160% | 246% | 112% | 220% | 24% | 213% |
| 2023 | 220% | 109% | 141% | 0% | — | 0% | 41% | 64% | 59% | 46% | 75% | 131% |
| 2024 | 142% | 220% | 278% | 100% | — | 280% | 79% | 97% | 34% | 6% | 100% | 0% |
| 2025 | 12% | 9% | 132% | 14% | — | 176% | 200% | 189% | 145% | 322% | 211% | 27% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Sabino Canyon
United States
- 109 mDepth
- 13 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 25°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q7396196) · 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?
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