Tenaya Canyon, Canyon in Mariposa County, California, United States.

Tenaya Canyon is a granite gorge in Yosemite National Park, California, running from the high country near Tioga Road down toward the valley floor. The canyon walls rise steeply on both sides, and a stream flows along its base, shaping the rock over time.

The canyon's V-shaped floor and polished granite walls result from glacial quarrying along a longitudinal fracture belt, with lateral plucking limited by solid rock on both sides. In the 1850s, Chief Tenaya reportedly cursed the canyon after his son was killed by a battalion sent to forcibly displace the Ahwahneechee from Yosemite Valley.

The canyon takes its name from Tenaya, a chief of the Ahwahneechee people who lived in the region in the 19th century. His name appears across Yosemite today, from lakes to trails, keeping the memory of the original inhabitants present throughout the park.

The canyon has no marked trail through its interior, so anyone entering should be comfortable with route-finding over uneven terrain. The streambed can be slippery, especially in spring when snowmelt increases the water flow, so solid footwear is a must.

Tenaya Canyon carries a reputation beyond its physical difficulty: Chief Tenaya is said to have cursed it in the 1850s after his son was killed by a battalion sent to displace the Ahwahnechee. Believers point to accidents and disappearances, including two hikers who died there on the same day in 1996. Some rangers have called it the Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite.