The Narrows, Slot canyon in Zion National Park, United States

The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon, a slot cut by the North Fork of the Virgin River into Navajo sandstone. For most of the 3.6 miles from Big Spring to the Mouth of the Narrows, the river runs wall to wall between vertical cliffs 12 to 30 metres apart. The rock is smooth and water-worn, banded tan, orange, brown and dark red, with fluted columns and overhangs.

Nephi Johnson, guided by a Paiute, probably became the first European-American to see The Narrows in November 1858. In 1872 geologist Grove Karl Gilbert descended and named it during the Wheeler Survey, riding from Navajo Lake to Springdale. From 1919, when Zion became a national park, visitors were guided up the canyon on horseback into the 1960s, and the through-hike grew popular from the late 1960s.

The name "The Narrows" was given in 1872 by geologist Grove Karl Gilbert during the Wheeler Survey, when his party rode from Navajo Lake through the gorge to Springdale. The Paiute still come into the park occasionally for religious reasons and to gather rare plants. The Wall Street section, past Orderville Canyon, is named for its sheer cliff walls.

Visitors must wade through river water and should bring specialized water shoes and walking sticks for safe passage. Conditions shift with seasons and weather patterns, so planning ahead helps ensure both safety and comfort during the trek.

The canyon's Navajo sandstone is soft and porous, while the harder Kayenta layer beneath blocks downward erosion. Rain and meltwater seep through the sandstone until it hits the Kayenta, then exits sideways at the base of the walls as alkaline springs rich in dissolved calcium, leaving tuffa deposits along the riverbank.