What is a canyon?
A canyon is a deep, narrow valley with steep sides. “Canyon” comes from the Spanish word cañon, which means “tube” or “pipe.”
What are box canyons called?
Canyons within mountains, or gorges that have an opening on only one side, are called box canyons. Slot canyons are very narrow canyons that often have smooth walls.
What is the meaning of submarine canyons?
Steep-sided valleys in the seabed of the continental slope are referred to as submarine canyons. Unlike canyons on land, submarine canyons are thought to be formed by turbidity currents and landslides . The word canyon is Spanish in origin ( cañón, pronounced [kaˈɲon] ), with the same meaning.
What is the second largest canyon in the world?
The Capertee Valley in Australia is commonly reported as being the second largest (in terms of width) canyon in the world.
What is the difference between a canyon and a gorge?
A canyon is a deep valley having steep sides, and a gorge is a deep ravine with a river flowing through it or a ravine without the river.
What's the difference between a ravine and a canyon?
ravine: A deep, narrow gorge with steep sides. canyon: A deep gorge, typically one with a river flowing through it, as found in North America.
Is a gorge a canyon?
A gorge is often smaller than a canyon, although both words are used to describe deep, narrow valleys with a stream or river running along their bottom. A number of natural forces form gorges. The most common is erosion due to streams or rivers.
What is the difference between a gully and a gorge?
My Japanese-English dictionary gives valley , gorge , ravine , canyon , and gully as the translation of Japanese 谷(たに). So far I've only found that valley is wide/big, gorge and ravine are deep and narrow, and that canyon is larger and gully is smaller than ravine and gorge .
What is smaller than a gully?
Ravines and gullies are erosional features that exist on a continuum of scales. A ravine is defined as a small, narrow, and deep depression, smaller than a valley, and larger than a gully (Bates and Jackson, 1984).
What is the difference between a canyon and a holler?
As nouns the difference between canyon and hollow is that canyon is canyon while hollow is a small valley between mountains; a low spot surrounded by elevations.
What are the names of some canyons?
terrestrialBlack Canyon.Canyon de Chelly.Canyon del Nuerto.Canyonlands National Park (numerous canyons)Carnarvon Gorge.Chaco Canyon.Fraser Canyon.Grand Canyon.More items...
What are valleys and gorges?
As nouns the difference between gorge and valley is that gorge is a deep narrow passage with steep rocky sides; a ravine while valley is an elongated depression between hills or mountains, often with a river flowing through it.
What is the difference between a canyon and valley?
The main difference between canyon and valley is that canyons are deeper and have steeper sides than valleys. Canyons and valleys are two landforms created by running rivers and erosion. A valley is a depressed area of land between mountains or hills, while a canyon is a deep and narrow valley having steep sides.
Is a canyon a gulch?
As nouns the difference between gulch and canyon is that gulch is (obsolete) an act of gulching or gulping while canyon is a valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river.
What is a ravine in geography?
Definition of ravine : a small narrow steep-sided valley that is larger than a gully and smaller than a canyon and that is usually worn by running water. Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More About ravine.
What's the difference between a gulch and a gully?
In xeric lands, a gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch.
What is a canyon?
A canyon (from Spanish: cañón; archaic British English spelling: cañon) or gorge is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales.
What are some examples of canyons?
Examples of mountain-type canyons are Provo Canyon in Utah or Yosemite Valley in California's Sierra Nevada. Canyons within mountains, or gorges that have an opening on only one side, are called box canyons. Slot canyons are very narrow canyons that often have smooth walls.
Why is the largest canyon imprecise?
The definition of "largest canyon" is imprecise, because a canyon can be large by its depth, its length, or the total area of the canyon system. Also, the inaccessibility of the major canyons in the Himalaya contributes to them not being regarded as candidates for the biggest canyon.
Why are canyons more common in arid areas than in wet areas?
Canyons are much more common in arid than in wet areas because physical weathering has a more localized effect in arid zones. The wind and water from the river combine to erode and cut away less resistant materials such as shales. The freezing and expansion of water also serve to help form canyons.
How did Kevo Canyon form?
Formation. Kevo Canyon in Utsjoki, Finland. Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau or table-land level. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion and weathering remain exposed on the valley walls.
What is the largest canyon in Africa?
The largest canyon in Africa is the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. In August 2013, the discovery of Greenland's Grand Canyon was reported, based on the analysis of data from Operation IceBridge. It is located under an ice sheet. At 750 kilometres (470 mi) long, it is believed to be the longest canyon in the world.
What causes rocks to break off the walls of a canyon?
Water seeps into cracks between the rocks and freezes, pushing the rocks apart and eventually causing large chunks to break off the canyon walls, in a process known as frost wedging. Canyon walls are often formed of resistant sandstones or granite . Snake River Canyon, Idaho.
antonyms for canyon
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
How to use canyon in a sentence
Given how many visitors pose near the rim of the canyon for selfies, you might assume that most visitors have died by falling from its high ledges.
gorge
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
What is a narrow valley between hills or mountains?
gorge: A narrow valley between hills or mountains, typically with steep rocky walls and a stream running through it. ravine: A deep, narrow gorge with steep sides. canyon: A deep gorge, typically one with a river flowing through it, as found in North America. gully: (1) A ravine formed by the action of water; or ...
What is a deep narrow valley with steep sides?
ravine: a deep narrow valley with steep sides. canyon: a large valley with very steep sides and usually a river flowing along the bottom. gully: (1) a narrow valley or channel with steep sides, made by a fast-flowing stream; or (2) an artificial channel that is used to get rid of water that is not wanted.
How deep can an arroyo be cut?
The arroyos can be cut as deeply as 20m , be over 50m wide and tens or even hundreds of kilometres long. There are all sorts of words for different scales and topologies of watershed areas: gulch, hollow, couloir, valley, coombe (or cwm for word-nerds) and on and on.
What river is the Grand Canyon on?
Colorado River. The Grand Canyon ( Hopi: Ongtupqa, Yavapai: Wi:kaʼi:la, Navajo: Bidááʼ Haʼaztʼiʼ Tsékooh, Spanish: Gran Cañón) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
How old is the Grand Canyon?
Previous estimates had placed the age of the canyon at 5–6 million years. The study, which was published in the journal Science in 2008, used uranium-lead dating to analyze calcite deposits found on the walls of nine caves throughout the canyon. There is a substantial amount of controversy because this research suggests such a substantial departure from prior widely supported scientific consensus. In December 2012, a study published in the journal Science claimed new tests had suggested the Grand Canyon could be as old as 70 million years. However, this study has been criticized by those who support the "young canyon" age of around six million years as " [an] attempt to push the interpretation of their new data to their limits without consideration of the whole range of other geologic data sets."
What animals live in the Grand Canyon?
The conifer forests provide habitat for 52 animal species. Porcupines, shrews, red squirrels, tassel eared Kaibab and Abert's squirrels, Indian peacocks, black bear, mule deer, and elk are found at the park's higher elevations on the Kaibab Plateau.
What is the name of the Native American tribe that lived in the Grand Canyon?
The Ancestral Puebloans were a Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States. They were the first people known to live in the Grand Canyon area. The cultural group has often been referred to in archaeology as the Anasazi, although the term is not preferred by the modern Puebloan peoples. The word "Anasazi" is Navajo for "Ancient Ones" or "Ancient Enemy".
What river has driven the cliffs and tributaries of the Colorado River?
Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon. For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves.
When did the Grand Canyon disappear?
They were never seen again, and their disappearance remains one of the most enduring mysteries of American western history. The remaining members completed the journey through the Grand Canyon on August 13, 1869. In 1871 Powell first used the term "Grand Canyon"; previously it had been called the "Big Canyon".
How long ago did the Colorado River change?
The base level and course of the Colorado River (or its ancestral equivalent) changed 5.3 million years ago when the Gulf of California opened and lowered the river's base level (its lowest point). This increased the rate of erosion and cut nearly all of the Grand Canyon's current depth by 1.2 million years ago.
What is the Grand Canyon?
Cut by the Colorado River over millions of years, the Grand Canyon is considered one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world.
How deep is the Grand Canyon?
The immense canyon is 277 miles (446 kilometers) long and averages 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) deep, but it is only 15 miles (24 kilometers) across at its widest.</p>.
What is a valley?
Valleys are depressed areas of land–scoured and washed out by the conspiring forces of gravity, water, and ice. Some hang; others are hollow. They all take the form of a "U" or "V.". Rivers and streams make most primary valley cuts, carving steep-walled sides and a narrow floor that from afar looks like the letter "V.".
Where do the massive blocks of snow and ice slowly creep downhill?
The massive blocks of snow and ice slowly creep downhill where they will meet the least resistance: valleys already cut by rivers and streams. As the glaciers ooze, they pick up rocks and grind away at the valley floor and sides, pressing the "V" into a "U.".
Where is the Black Canyon?
The bulk of the rock and dirt is dredged from the bottom of the channel, a process called down cutting that can ultimately lead to deep, slender chasms like Black Canyon in Colorado's Gunnison National Park.
Where do waterfalls cascade?
Waterfalls often cascade from the outlet of the upper valley into the drainage below. Hollows, like those in Appalachia, are small valleys nestled between mountains or hills.
Overview
Formation
Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau or table-land level. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion and weathering remain exposed on the valley walls.
Canyons are much more common in arid areas than in wet areas because physical weathering has a more localized effect in arid zones. The wind and w…
Etymology
The word canyon is Spanish in origin (cañón, pronounced [kaˈɲon]), with the same meaning. The word canyon is generally used in North America, while the words gorge and ravine (French in origin) are used in Europe and Oceania, though gorge and ravine are also used in some parts of North America. In the United States, place names generally use canyon in the southwest (due to their proxi…
Largest canyons
The definition of "largest canyon" is imprecise, because a canyon can be large by its depth, its length, or the total area of the canyon system. Also, the inaccessibility of the major canyons in the Himalaya contributes to them not being regarded as candidates for the biggest canyon. The definition of "deepest canyon" is similarly imprecise, especially if one includes mountain canyons, as well as canyons cut through relatively flat plateaus (which have a somewhat well-defined rim e…
Cultural significance
Some canyons have notable cultural significance. Evidence of early hominids has been discovered in Africa's Olduvai Gorge. In the southwestern United States, canyons are important archeologically because of the many cliff-dwellings built in such areas, largely by the ancient Pueblo people who were their first inhabitants.
Notable examples
The following list contains only the most notable canyons of the world, arranged by continent and then country.
• Fish River Canyon
• Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga
• Oribi Gorge, KwaZulu-Natal
Canyons on other planetary bodies
• Ithaca Chasma on Saturn's moon Tethys
• Valles Marineris on Mars, the largest-known canyon in the Solar System
• Vid Flumina on Saturn's largest moon Titan is the only known liquid-floored canyon in the Solar System besides Earth
See also
Environment portal
• Antecedent drainage stream
• Canyoning – Traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques
• Chine