box canyon

noun

1. a canyon with steep side walls terminating headwards in a vertical cliff.

box canyon

noun

1. a canyon with vertical or almost vertical walls

Word History and Origins

Origin of box canyon¹

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

Example Sentences

Tucked away in a remote Colorado box canyon, the Telluride Film Festival has long leaned into its image as a kind of Brigadoon for cinephiles.

From Los Angeles Times

Picturesque Box Canyon offers a rustic bridge, gentle half-mile ramble, picnics and views of rushing waters through a tall, narrow canyon.

From Seattle Times

They discover the simplicity and warmth of life in a town at the dead end of a box canyon with a year-round population of roughly 300.

From New York Times

But the festival, held in a remote former mining town in a beautiful box canyon in the Colorado mountains, also can be prohibitively expensive to attend and all that talk of “cinema” can be a little off-putting to the unconverted.

From Los Angeles Times

Two days later, the Hotshots were battling the wildfire in a box canyon when the winds suddenly shifted and the flames rapidly raced toward them.

From Washington Times