Ruth Gorge in Alaska, 8,000 feet deep 3,000 feet of which are filled by the glacier?

C'mon now, EB. If you are going to count filled-in canyons, you'd have to include the Marianas Trench.

A quick google says it's Cotahuasi Canyon in Peru. Deepest in the US is Hells Canyon in Idaho.

http://geology.com/records/deepest-canyon.shtml

A quick google says it's Cotahuasi Canyon in Peru.

Since the Himalaya doesn't form a continental divide, the rivers cutting through it sometimes form gorges deeper than the Cotahuasi or nearby Colca. Khali Gendaki reaches 18,000+ feet of depth by some measurements. Those claiming the Cotahuasi is the deepest say that it is a canyon, rather than gorge, but to me they are the same thing.

Regardless of gorge vs. canyon, the Himalayan ones are deeper than the ones in Peru (I've been to both). Gorges such as The Khali Gendaki, Indus, Yarlung Tsangpo, etc., are all deeper than the ones in Peru, no matter which measurements are used, and both of Peru ones are deeper than anything in North America (even if you do include the ice filled part of the Ruth Gorge).

All of those gorges are very impressive though.

Here's a photo pointing out how deep the Colca in Peru is (this is in the tropics). This photo is looking across the canyon:



Here is what the bottom of the canyon looks like:



I used to have photos of the deepest part of the Khali Gendaki on SP, but I can't find them. Weird.

For those interested, here is a google map screen shot of the Khali Gendaki. Notice the elevations on either side and the elevation of the valley floor where the river is:



Click for full size:

http://images.summitpost.org/original/932971.JPG

Also notice the scale and in how short of distance these elevation changes take place.

Agree w/Scott.

Khali Gendaki, the wide canyon between Dhaulagiri 1 and Annapurna's main summit is (by far) the deepest Gorge on the planet. Fantastic place to be in and hike through. The approach route to Dhaulagiri, the sixth tallest peak on earth goes through this canyon to the town of Tukuche, close to Tibetan border.

One should consider the Hunza Valley. The straight line between Batura I and Rakaposhi about 25.4 miles passes over a point in the river of 6188 feet. The straight line(21.4 miles) between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri passes over a low point of about 8200 feet.

desainme wrote:... The straight line between Batura I and Rakaposhi about 25.4 miles passes over a point in the river of 6188 feet. The straight line(21.4 miles) between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri passes over a low point of about 8200 feet.

We've been having variations on this argument since the dawn of Summitpost, the dawn of the internet and no doubt in pubs before that. Fun stuff

I've been up and down those two valleys at least three times each, including the Jomsom-Pokhara flight, which gives another perspective. The Kali Gandaki in particular is so wide, between the summits of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, that to me it doesn't seem like anything I personally would call a canyon or gorge, regardless of their strict geographical definitions. The Gandaki is a wiiiide valley. In a 'gorge' I expect to be only able to look up, not across.

In contrast, on the other side of the Dhaulagiri, between Dhaulagiri and Dhaulagiri IV is the Myagdi valley, and it only bottoms at around 10,000ft between the peaks, but it is much narrower. That seems more like a 'gorge' to me.

Likewise, over in SE Tibet you drop from nearly 7800m at the summit of Namcha Barwa down to the river at 3800m then back up to Gyala Peri at nearly 7300m.

Maybe also worth a mention, out of rarity, is the gorge of the Satluj (Sutlej), on the Spiti-China border. The south face of Reo Pargial (Reo Purgyal) drops 6800m down to 2700m then up again to nearly 6000m on the other side. There is a road through this gorge, but it is closed off and runs higher up the canyon wall.