Fish River Canyon
The Second Largest Canyon in the World
The Fish River Canyon is the second biggest canyon on Earth, after the Grand Canyon in the USA. It is located inside the Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, which is managed by the government. The entrance to the park is about 10 kilometers from a famous viewpoint called Hell’s Bend, near Hobas Rest Camp.
All visitors must check in at the park entrance. Keep in mind that hiking in the canyon is not allowed in the summer months because it gets too hot. The Fish River Hiking Trail is only open from April to September. The trail is about 85 kilometers long and usually takes 4 to 5 days to complete, depending on your fitness level. Only hikers doing the full trail are allowed to go down into the canyon. Day visitors are not allowed to enter the canyon itself.
The Fish River is the longest river in Namibia, stretching about 800 kilometers. It begins in the Naukluft Mountains in the east and flows for about 200 kilometers before reaching the Hardap Dam, which is Namibia’s biggest reservoir. The dam has a surface area of 28 square kilometers and a 30 km shoreline.
Downstream from the dam, the Fish River only flows during the rainy season. In the dry season, the river breaks up into small pools that still provide water for many wild animals.
The Fish River Canyon starts near a town called Seeheim, in the lower part of the river. The canyon is about 161 kilometers long, 27 kilometers wide, and up to 550 meters deep. It ends at Ai-Ais, where the Fish River flows into the Orange River, which marks the border between Namibia and South Africa.
How the Canyon Was Formed
The rocks in the Fish River Canyon are among the oldest in Namibia, some more than a billion years old. These ancient rocks (called gneiss) were cut through by the river over time. Around 650 million years ago, a large mountain range eroded into flat plains that were once flooded by the sea.
Then, about 350 million years ago, the canyon began to take shape. A graben (a deep valley created by tectonic faults) formed, creating a wide, low area where the Fish River now flows. The canyon walls we see today are the edges of this ancient graben, now more than 20 km apart.
Around 300 million years ago, the riverbed was still much higher than it is today. Later, during the Gondwana Ice Age, glaciers helped carve the canyon even deeper—though today, it's hard to imagine ice ever being in this desert area.
About 120 million years ago, when the ancient supercontinent Gondwana split and the African continent rose, the Fish River began cutting even deeper into the rock. As a result, the canyon’s deepest point today reaches 549 meters below the surface.
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