Canyon Dimensions

The Black Canyon through the national park is particularly steep, deep, and narrow.

NPS Photo/Ethan Crump

The Black Canyon is incredibly deep and sheer, with plunging cliffs, soaring buttresses and a thundering river. The following lists will help you understand the physical size of the canyon in comparison to other canyons and man-made structures.

Dimensions

Greatest Depth:

• Warner Point: 2,722 feet (829 m)
• Chasm View: 1,820 feet (555 m)
• Gunnison Point: 1,840 feet (561 m)

Narrowest Width:

• Chasm View: 1,100 feet (335 m) at the rim
• The Narrows: 40 feet (12 m) at the river

Total Canyon Length:

• Total Length: 48 miles (77 km)
• Length Through Black Canyon National Park: 14 miles (22.5 km)

Gunnison River:

• Average descent over entire length of canyon: 43 feet/ mile (8 m/ km)
• Greatest Descent: Occurs in park at Chasm View: 240 feet/ mile (45 m/ km)

 

Other North American Canyons

Hells Canyon, Idaho and Oregon

This is the deepest canyon in North America, the canyon is 8,043 feet (2,452 meters) deep.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

The deepest part of Grand Canyon is about 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) deep. The average depth is 1 mile or 5,280 feet (1,609 meters).

The Royal Gorge, Colorado

This canyon is 1,053 feet (321 meters) deep.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Wyoming

The canyon is 1,200 feet (366 meters) deep.

New River Gorge, West Virginia

The deepest canyon in the eastern United States is 1,400 feet (427 meters).

Canyons of the Nahanni, Northwest Territories, Canada

This canyon is 3,300 feet (1,006 meters) deep.

Barranca Del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico

Copper Canyon, in north central Mexico is 6,165 feet (1,879 meters) deep.

 

The Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. From river to rim it stands 2250 feet (685 meters). Numbers correspond to the list of man-made structures and how their heights compare.

NPS Graphic

Painted Wall Compared to Man-Made Structures

The Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. From river to rim it stands 2250 feet (685 meters).

1. Great Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt: the tallest is 449 feet (137 meters).
2. Washington Monument, Washington, D.C.: 555 feet (169.2 meters) tall.
3. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France: 1,063 feet (324 meters) tall.
4. Empire State Building, New York, New York: 1,250 feet (381 meters) tall.
5. Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), Chicago, Illinois: The highest building in the U.S. stands 1,450 feet (442 meters) tall.
6. Tokyo Sky Tree, Tokyo, Japan: The tallest observation tower in the world stands 2,080 feet (634 meters).
7. Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The tallest building in the world at 2,717 feet (828 meters).