Canyon

A canyon is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs, produced by the erosive action of a river cutting through rock over long spans of geological time. Canyons typically form where a river's headwaters and outlet differ greatly in elevation and cut through alternating layers of harder and softer rock, with a box canyon enclosed on three sides and a slot canyon marked by very narrow, smooth walled passages. A submarine canyon is a related but differently formed feature cut into a continental slope by turbidity currents and underwater landslides rather than river flow. The English word comes from the Spanish canon, and in Europe and Oceania the same kind of landform is more often called a gorge or ravine.