Owyhee Canyon, Protected canyon in Malheur County and Owyhee County, United States.

Owyhee Canyon is a canyon of the Owyhee River in Malheur County, Oregon, and Owyhee County, Idaho, cut into basalt of the Columbia River Basalt Group. Its walls rise in stepped layers above the river, which drops through rapids such as those near Three Forks, where the North, Middle and South Forks of the Owyhee meet. The canyon rim lies roughly 1,000 feet above the water in places.

The name comes from Hawaiian employees of the North West Company, who were among the fur traders working the Snake River country in the 1810s and 1820s; their presence gave the river and canyon the name Owyhee, an older spelling of Hawaii. The canyon later lay within the route of the Owyhee Dam, completed in 1932 downstream, which backed water into the lower gorge.

The name Owyhee is an older spelling of Hawaii, given by fur traders who came to the river country in the early 1800s. Northern Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock people used the canyon for hunting and gathering; today the Owyhee is known among boaters for its multi-day float through basalt walls.

The area is extremely remote with few services available, so bring plenty of water and prepare your vehicle with spare tires and supplies before entering. Plan to be self-sufficient throughout your visit to this isolated landscape.

The Owyhee River canyon cuts through a high desert plateau of basalt and rhyolite, and its lower gorge near the Oregon–Idaho line drops in sheer walls that boaters run as Class III–IV rapids. Petroglyphs pecked into the dark rock by earlier inhabitants can be seen along the canyon rims.