Top 10 Canyons In The World

There are debates about what makes up a canyon. Some people think river gorges in mountain ranges should count, which gives the Himalaya's Kali Gendaki and Yarlung Tsangpo instant poll position, while purists tend to think a real 'canyon' has to be a gorge carved by uplift of a plateau! Taking this traditional route, here are the top ten canyons on planet earth!

10. Vikos Gorge, Greece

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Europe isn’t exactly Canyon central, but this one in Greece is gorge-ous and up to 1600 feet (490m) deep!

9. Paria canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, USA

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The American South West is the canyon capital of the world, and this Arizona stunner is an obvious reason why! Probably most famous for “The Wave”.

8. Antelope Canyon, USA

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Another canyon in Arizona, this slot canyon may be pretty small but is a photographers dream! Look out for it as your desktop background rotates!

7. Waimea Canyon, USA

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This vividly colored canyon is maybe the most colorful in the world as well as being an impressive 3000 feet deep (900m)! It’s found on the stunning island of Kauai.

6. Zion Canyon, USA

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One of the most beautiful canyons in the world, Utah’s Zion canyon usually ranges between 2000 and 3000 feet (600m-900m) in depth. Spectacular sights in this wonder include Angel’s Landing and the Temple of Sewanee.

5. Fish River, Nambia

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The largest conventional type canyon in Africa, Namibia’s Fish River Canyon is not very deep at only 1800 feet (550m) but it is tremendously large at 100 miles (160km) in length and up to 17 miles (27km) in width! Like many of the world’s great canyons, it is found in a very arid area.

4. Copper Canyon, Mexico

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Mexico’s largest canyon is one of the very largest in the world. That’s because the canyon is actually a system of six gorges formed by six rivers. Adding them together means that by some measures is even bigger than Arizona’s Grand Canyon!

3. Blyde River, South Africa

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The world’s largest green canyon has some of the steepest cliffs of any canyon, and is also one of its most beautiful. Set in a subtropical area, the bright green plants contrasts against the ancient red sandstone of the canyon in a visual feast. Hippos and crocodiles frequent the river far below the plateau above the canyon, which attains a maximum depth of over 4,500 feet (1386m). Unlike almost all great canyons, it is easy to see from the bottom as there are roads leading there, as well as boat rides and white water rafting when there.

2. Colca Canyon, Peru

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The Colca Canyon is an astounding wonder found in Peru! At first one may think it must be a mountain gorge because of its extreme altitude, but it in fact is carved out of a plateau rather than being a gorge beneath a conventional mountain range. This makes it a conventional ‘canyon’, and by this definition it is probably the deepest on earth at a mind boggling 4160m from high to low point! Cruz del Condor is probably the single best viewpoint, where the viewpoint is over 1200m above the river below.

1. Grand Canyon, USA

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Top spot is a no brainer! The Grandest Canyon on Earth stretches an incredible 277 miles (446 km) long, is up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet or 1,800 meters)! Over a dozen layers are visible as the canyon steps down to the Colorado river, exposing almost 2,000,000,000 of the Earth’s history! The stunning red sandstone that makes up the canyon makes it visually like a dream scape, and the canyon is undeniably one of the great wonders of the world!