Maligne Canyon, Natural canyon in Jasper National Park, Canada

Maligne Canyon is a slot canyon in Jasper National Park, Alberta, cut into the Palliser Formation limestone. In places it is over 50 metres deep and only 2 metres wide. The photograph shows pale gray and white rock walls dropping steeply into a shadowed chasm, with an overhanging arched recess on the right wall and moss and dry grass on the near left slope.

Maligne Canyon is cut into the Palliser Formation, limestone deposited in a shallow tropical sea by plankton that secreted calcium carbonate. The Maligne River leaves Medicine Lake and runs about 15 km as a losing stream, vanishing underground before smaller streams rebuild it above the canyon. Where the surface river meets the bedrock layers of the underground flow, large subterranean streams join and swell the current, which erodes the gorge to 50 m deep and, in places, 2 m wide.

The name comes from the Maligne River, named by French-speaking voyageurs; "maligne" means wicked or malicious, referring to the river's unpredictable flow. The Maligne River vanishes into seeps near Medicine Lake for most of the year, then resurfaces and joins underground streams at the canyon, amplifying the current that carved the 50-metre-deep gorge.

The trail can be walked in either direction with multiple entry and exit points depending on how long you want to hike. Wear comfortable hiking shoes and be cautious on the bridges, especially in wet or windy conditions.

Underground springs emerge between the fifth and sixth bridges, merging with the Maligne River beneath the hiking trail through hidden limestone passages. This reveals how water moves invisibly within the canyon's depths before resurfacing.