box canyons
Three-sided rocky gorges
A box canyon is a canyon with steep walls on three sides, leaving only one way in and out.
The geography makes it a natural trap—cattle can be herded into one, and in Western films, outlaws corner their pursuers there.
They rode into the box canyon and realized too late there was no exit.
- dead-endPassage without exit
- blind alleyPassage without outlet
- gulchSteep narrow ravine
- gorgeDeep, narrow valley
- narrowOf small width
narrow passage · cul-de-sac · solitude · gully · rockface · crevice · buttes · chasm · escarpments · flash floods · erosion · cattle drives · cliffs · red rock · ravine · trailheads · valleys · rimrock
- valleysdales, alpine valley, vales, glacial valley, glens
- Southwest TerrainMonument Valley, mesas, buttes, arroyos, Sonoran Desert
- canyon featuresgorge, ravine, chasm, narrows, cliff
- Utah Canyonlandshoodoos, slickrock, red rock, sandstone cliffs, Grand Staircase
- Red Rock Countryred rock, red sand, slickrock, hoodoos, arches
- hidden placesunderwater caves, sea caves, cenotes, underground rivers, caverns
passage type/connectivity
box canyonsmountain passes
Routes traversing elevated ranges
passes · slot canyons · river gorges · corridors · open valleys
openness of terrain
box canyonsopen plains
Broad, flat, treeless terrain
flatlands · prairies · savannas · steppes · open range