Canyon
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A canyon (rarely cañon) or gorge is a deep valley between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau 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 wetter areas because weathering has a greater effect in arid zones. Canyon walls are often formed of resistant sandstones or granite. Submarine canyons are those which form underwater, generally at the mouths of rivers. The word canyon is Spanish in origin (cañón). The word canyon is generally used in the United States, while the word gorge is more common in Europe and Oceania, though it is also used in some parts of the United States and Canada. The military derived word defile is occasionally used in England.
A famous example is the Grand Canyon in Arizona. In the southwestern United States, canyons are important archeologically because of the many cliff-dwellings built there, largely by the earlier inhabitants, Ancient Pueblo Peoples.
Sometimes large rivers run through canyons as the result of gradual geologic uplift. These are called entrenched rivers, because they are unable to easily alter their course. The Colorado River and the Snake River in the northwestern United States are two examples of tectonic uplift.
Canyons often form in areas of limestone rock. Limestone is to a certain extent soluble, so cave systems form in the rock. When these collapse a canyon is left, for example in the Mendip Hills in Somerset and Yorkshire Dales in Yorkshire, England.
A canyon may also refer to a rift between two mountain peaks such as those in ranges such as the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, the Himalayas or the Andes. Usually a river or stream and erosion carve out such splits between mountains. Examples of mountain type canyons are Provo Canyon in Utah or Yosemite National Park in California's Sierra Nevada. Canyons within mountains or gorges that only have an opening on one side are called box canyons.
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Lists
List of notable canyons and gorges
Americas
- Atuel Canyon, Mendoza Province, Argentina
- Bad Rock Canyon, Montana, United States
- Big South Fork of the Cumberland River gorge, Kentucky and Tennessee
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado, United States
- Breaks Canyon. Kentucky/Virginia, United States
- Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, United States
- Canyon Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada
- Chicamocha Canyon, Santander, Colombia
- Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru
- Columbia River Gorge, Washington and Oregon, United States
- Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, Mexico
- Cotahuasi Canyon, Arequipa, Peru
- Flume Gorge, New Hampshire, United States
- Fraser Canyon, British Columbia, Canada
- Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States
- Grand Canyon of the Stikine, British Columbia, Canada
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Wyoming, United States
- Grand Canyon of Torotoro, Torotoro, Potosi Department, Bolivia
- Guartelá Canyon, Paraná, Brazil
- Hells Canyon, Idaho and Oregon, United States
- Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta, Canada
- Huasteca Canyon, Monterrey, Mexico
- Itaimbezinho, Aparados da Serra National Park, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazi
- James River Gorge, Virginia, United States
- Kings Canyon National Park, California, United States
- Lehigh River Gorge, The Poconos, Northeastern Pennsylvania
- Letchworth State Park (Genesee River Gorge), New York, United States
- Linville Gorge Wilderness, North Carolina, United States
- Little River Canyon, Alabama, United States
- Logan Canyon, Utah, United States
- New River Gorge, West Virginia, United States
- Niagara Gorge, Canada/United States
- Nine Mile Canyon, Utah, United States
- Ouimet Canyon, Ontario, Canada
- Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, United States
- Painted Chasm, Chasm Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
- Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania, United States
- Quechee Gorge, Vermont, United States
- Red River Gorge, Kentucky, United States
- Rio Grande Gorge, New Mexico, United States
- Ripogenus Gorge, Maine, United States
- Royal Gorge, Colorado, United States
- Saturban canyon, Santander, Colombia
- Somoto Canyon, Somoto, Madriz, Nicaragua
- St. Christopher's Canyon (Cañon de San Cristobal), Barranquitas/Aibonito, Puerto Rico
- Sumidero Canyon, Chiapas, Mexico
- Tallulah Gorge, Georgia, United States
- Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, United States
Africa
- Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga, South Africa
- Fish River Canyon, Namibia
- Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (The word Kloof means 'gorge' in Afrikaans)
- Komati Gorge, South Africa
- Lanner Gorge, South Africa
- Mides Canyon, Tunisia
- Olduvai Gorge, Great Rift Valley, Africa
- Talari Gorges, Mali
Europe
- Aragvi River Gorge, Georgia
- Ardèche Gorges, Rhône-Alpes, France
- Avon Gorge, Bristol, England
- Bletterbach, South Tyrol, Italy
- Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, England
- Corrieshalloch Gorge, Ullapool, Scotland
- Daluis Gorge, Provence, France
- Dniester Canyon, Ukraine
- Ebbor Gorge, Somerset, England
- Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, Iceland
- Gorges du Tarn, France
- Gorropu, Sardinia, Italy
- Greenland's Grand Canyon, Greenland
- Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire, England
- Osum Gorge, Albania
- Liechtensteinklamm, Salzburg (state), Austria
- Matka Canyon, Republic of Macedonia
- Pankisi Gorge, Georgia
- Richtis Gorge, Crete, Greece
- Rugova Canyon, Serbia
- Samaria Gorge, Crete, Greece
- Tara River Canyon, Montenegro
- Verdon Gorge, Provence, France
- Viamala, Graubünden, Switzerland
- Vikos Gorge, Vikos–Aoös National Park, Greece
Asia
- Ala Archa gorge of Ala Archa National Park, Kyrgyz Republic
- Bued Gorge, Benguet, Philippines
- Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan
- Chovar Gorge, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Cukang Taneuh, Pangandaran, Indonesia
- Harmanköy Canyon, Bilecik, Turkey
- Indus River Gorge through the Himalaya, Pakistan
- Kali Gandaki Gorge, Gandaki, Nepal
- Montalban Gorge, Philippines
- Shnizow Canyon, Uşak, Turkey
- Siq, Petra, Jordan
- Soan River george, Pakistan
- Taroko Gorge of Taroko National Park, Taiwan
- Three Gorges, Chongqing, China
- Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China
- Valla Canyon, Kure, Kastamonu, Turkey
- Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Australia
- Barfold Gorge, Victoria
- Barron Gorge, Queensland
- Bouldercombe Gorge, Queensland
- Cambanoora Gorge, Queensland
- Carnarvon Gorge, Queensland
- Cataract Gorge, Tasmania
- Dimond Gorge, Western Australia
- Galston Gorge, New South Wales
- Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory
- Kings Canyon, Northern Territory
- Lerderderg Gorge, Victoria
- Loch Ard Gorge, Victoria
- Little River Gorge, Victoria
- Mossman Gorge, Queensland
- Murchison River Gorge, Western Australia
- Nepean Gorge, New South Wales
- North and South Gorges of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland
- Porcupine Gorge, Queensland
- Palm Valley, Northern Territory
- Ravine des Casoars, South Australia
- Sturt Gorge, South Australia
- Windjana Gorge, Western Australia
New Zealand
- Buller Gorge, Buller, New Zealand
- Manawatu Gorge, Manawatu, North Island, New Zealand
- Skippers Canyon, New Zealand
List of other features causing gorges or canyons
- Ardèche River, France
- Bued River, Philippines
- Danube River, Europe
- Hérault River, France
- Iron Gate, Serbia-Romania
- Ruinaulta, cutting Flims Rockslide, Switzerland
- Kings River of the Kings Canyon National Park, California, United States
- South Nahanni River in Canada
- Steall Waterfall of Glen Nevis, Lochaber, Scotland
- Sierra y Cañones de Guara, Alquezar, Spain
Canyons on other planetary bodies
- Ithaca Chasma on Saturn's moon Tethys
- Valles Marineris on Mars, the largest known canyon in the solar system
Venus has many craters and canyons on its surface. The troughs on the planet are part of a system of canyons that is more than 6 400 km long.
See also
- Antecedent drainage stream
- Canyoning
- Draw (terrain)
- Geomorphology
- Gully
- Ravine
- Steephead valley
- Valley