Is Hells Canyon bigger than the Grand Canyon?

Inside Idaho Nestled along the Idaho and Oregon border lies one of the greatest natural wonders in North America: Hells Canyon. Carved by the Snake River, the gorge is ten miles wide and plunges 7,913 feet. That's 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon – making it the deepest river gorge in North America.



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Nestled along the Idaho and Oregon border lies one of the greatest natural wonders in North America: Hells Canyon. Carved by the Snake River, the gorge is ten miles wide and plunges 7,913 feet. That's 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon – making it the deepest river gorge in North America.

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Canyons are defined by depth, and in North America there is none deeper than Hells Canyon. At its lowest, the Snake River sinks an astonishing 7,993 feet beneath the canyon rim, nearly 2,000 feet deeper than the “Grand” Canyon.

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Top 10 Largest Canyons in the US
  • Grand Canyon, Arizona.
  • Palo Duro Canyon, Texas.
  • Antelope Canyon, Arizona.
  • Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.
  • Royal Gorge Canyon, Colorado.
  • Hells Canyon, Oregon & Idaho.
  • Kings Canyon, California.
  • Death Valley, California.


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Arizona's Grand Canyon of the Colorado is acknowledged as the greatest of them all; it is not as deep as Hells Canyon, but it is wider, longer, more rugged, and far more colorful. Its depth is two to three times that of the Black Canyon.

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The Hells Canyon Scenic Byway stretches for 22 miles and it gives you a stunning view of the canyon's rugged landscape. The feeling you'll get as you drive along the canyon's jagged walls is simply indescribable. Check out Idaho's most dramatic scenic drive and add this to your bucket list ASAP.

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The name Hells Canyon is believed to come from the difficult and rugged journey through the terrain by boat. The first known reference to it as Hells Canyon is in the 1895 edition of H.W. McCurdy's “Marine History of the Pacific Northwest.”

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The entire route is on a paved highway. Plan ahead – you'll find stretches of more than eighty miles without gas and with few services. A segment of the Byway between Joseph and Halfway closes with snow in winter, but allows access to winter recreation areas, offering a whole other kind of Northeast Oregon adventure.

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The Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon in America and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. It is up to 1,000 metres deep and five kilometres wide...

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The Fish River Canyon of southern Namibia is the second largest canyon in the World after the Grand Canyon of the USA. It consists of a northern upper and a southern lower canyon.

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The Black Canyon through the national park is particularly steep, deep, and narrow. The Black Canyon is incredibly deep and sheer, with plunging cliffs, soaring buttresses and a thundering river.

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The second largest canyon in the country lies in the heart of the Texas Panhandle. Visit Palo Duro Canyon State Park; experience the canyon's rugged beauty and enjoy its colorful history.

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With its soaring granite cliffs and the south fork of the Kings River meandering through the canyon floor, this spectacular gorge is the second deepest canyon in the United States (only Hells Canyon in Oregon, Idaho, Washington at 7993ft.

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Most of the rapids Hells Canyon are classified as a Class III and Class IV, which means you're in for a wild ride and you're definitely getting wet. The two most intense rapids are at the beginning of the trip. Both are Class IVs.

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Hells Canyon is a ten-mile-wide (16 km) canyon in the Western United States, located along the border of eastern Oregon, a small section of eastern Washington and western Idaho.

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On average, the Snake River is 16 feet and 4 inches deep. Only three roads point to the Snake River between Hells Canyon Dam and the Oregon-Washington border; there are no highways that span the 10-mile-wide Hells Canyon.

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The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Tibet, a region of southwestern China, was formed over millions of years by the Yarlung Zangbo River. This canyon is the deepest in the world—at some points extending more than 5,300 meters (17,490 feet) from top to bottom.

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