United States Slot canyon

The Narrows

730 m of rock, cut by the North Fork Virgin River.

The cut

730 metres, to scale.

A slice through The Narrows 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 · 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. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.

730m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

2.8km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

52°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

1,340m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

5 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 34 °C on the floor, against 30 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in April and in October. The rim freezes at night from November to March.

rim · 2,077 mfloor · 1,340 m

8°4°Jan
10°5°Feb
15°10°Mar
19°14°Apr
25°20°May
32°28°Jun
34°30°Jul
33°28°Aug
29°24°Sep
21°16°Oct
14°9°Nov
8°3°Dec

Hike: Apr, OctFrost on the rim: Nov–Mar

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.

Narrowest part of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park, Utah, United States

The Narrows is a slot canyon in United States, cut by the North Fork Virgin River. The relief model measures 730 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 2.8 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Zion National Park.

Getting there.

Parking 120 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
Cedar City Regional Airport (CDC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 46 km in a straight lineCar hire at SGU airport (St George)Discover Cars · sponsored link
In April and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at SGU airport (St George)Discover CarsSee prices

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 North Fork Virgin River runs highest from February to April.

The North Fork Virgin River carries about 1.5 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from February to April, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from June to September and in December.

3.9 m³/sJan
6.2 m³/sFeb
7.9 m³/sMar
6.4 m³/sApr
3.2 m³/sMay
0.2 m³/sJun
0.4 m³/sJul
0.7 m³/sAug
0.7 m³/sSep
1.8 m³/sOct
0.8 m³/sNov
0.2 m³/sDec

From about 0.17 m³/s in the lowest month to 7.9 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 649 km².

Follow the Virgin 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.

The Narrows seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 1.5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

7viewpoints within 5 kmObservation Point, Scout Lookout, Big Bend Viewpoint and 4 more
8marked hiking routes within 4 kmWest Rim Trail, East Rim Trail, Telephone Canyon and 5 more
1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmWest Rim Trail
2named waterfalls within 4 kmMystery Canyon Falls, Menu Falls
4car parks within 3 km
1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
24campsites within 8 kmCampsite 1, Campsite 4, Campsite 3 and 21 more
2hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmZion Lodge

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
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 The Narrows.

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

Virgin River261 km · 6.0 m³/s

Peakyas65 mountains within 15 km

Three Patriarchs3,138 m · 5.2 kmMeridian Tower2,236 m · 7.3 kmAltar of Sacrifice2,287 m · 8.9 kmThe Witch Head2,237 m · 9.4 kmSouth Guardian Angel2,172 m · 10 kmNorth Guardian Angel2,254 m · 10 kmPine Valley Peak2,254 m · 13 kmLava Point2,413 m · 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon · floor	8	10	15	19	25	32	34	33	29	21	14	8
Afternoon · rim	4	5	10	14	20	28	30	28	24	16	9	3
Night · rim	-7	-6	-3	0	5	11	15	14	9	2	-3	-8
Rain (mm)	32	36	32	26	18	7	34	32	25	32	23	35
Rainy days	7	8	7	6	5	3	8	9	5	5	5	6
Sun hours/day	6.7	7.3	9.1	10.8	12.2	14.0	11.9	11.6	10.9	9.2	7.7	6.0
Snow on the ground (cm)	14	14	9	5	2	0	0	0	0	2	6	14

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	8	4	-7	32	6.7
Feb	10	5	-6	36	7.3
Mar	15	10	-3	32	9.1
Apr	19	14	0	26	10.8
May	25	20	5	18	12.2
Jun	32	28	11	7	14.0
Jul	34	30	15	34	11.9
Aug	33	28	14	32	11.6
Sep	29	24	9	25	10.9
Oct	21	16	2	32	9.2
Nov	14	9	-3	23	7.7
Dec	8	3	-8	35	6.0

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,340 m) and the rim (2,077 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Zion National Park, the Narrows — Trougnouf · CC BY 4.0

Zion 1 bg 110302 — The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia . · Public domain

2009-06 Zion-38 (4507323424) — Greg Mote from Glendora, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0

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	17%	55%	174%	94%	14%	33%	23%	28%	5%	0%	51%	35%
2021	60%	23%	97%	44%	12%	50%	267%	198%	54%	181%	0%	213%
2022	2%	34%	48%	31%	0%	46%	118%	177%	167%	70%	146%	123%
2023	244%	116%	277%	36%	71%	225%	22%	180%	212%	19%	87%	11%
2024	134%	126%	107%	38%	34%	42%	35%	126%	15%	69%	67%	6%
2025	18%	35%	96%	53%	203%	288%	15%	65%	71%	148%	112%	59%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

The Narrows

United States

730 mDepth
2.8 kmRim to rim
—Length
52°Steepest wall

Zion Canyon

United States · 16 km

839 mDepth
14 kmRim to rim
—Length
55°Steepest wall

See the guide

The Subway

United States · 9 km

541 mDepth
4.2 kmRim to rim
—Length
48°Steepest wall

See the guide

Grand Canyon

United States · 151 km

1,413 mDepth
11 kmRim to rim
446 kmLength
56°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q3029053) · 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