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canyon
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Bighorn River
Bighorn River Bighorn River winding through Bighorn Canyon, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, northern Wyoming and southern Montana, U.S.

canyon

geology
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History

canyon, deep, steep-walled, V-shaped valley cut by a river through resistant rock. Such valleys often occur in the upper courses of rivers, where the stream has a strong, swift current that digs its valley relatively rapidly. Smaller valleys of similar appearance are called gorges. The term canyon is taken from the Spanish word cañón, meaning “tube.” The largest and most famous canyons have been cut through arid or semiarid lands by swift streams fed by...

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