A deep gorge or narrow steep-sided valley, usually formed by a river; variant spelling of canyon.
From Spanish cañón, derived from cana (tube or reed), ultimately from Latin canna. The term evolved to describe deep, narrow valleys that resembled the shaft of a tube or pipe.
Canyon comes from Spanish conquistadors looking at the American Southwest and using their word for a tube or barrel—that's why we call a giant gorge the same word as a gun's barrel!
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