Potato Canyon Slot
ACA Canyon
Rating – 3A II
Experienced Canyoneers
Only
requires
technical rappelling equipment…!!!
NEVER ENTER ANY
SLOT CANYON WHEN HEAVY RAIN IS IN THE FORECAST…!!!
Potato Falls in the North Fork Potato
Canyon is a 30’ high waterfall with 2 tiers.
Corey Norman is rappelling the upper 10’ tier
on the left and the lower 20’ tier on the right.
Above the narrow slot portion of canyon at
the waterfall is a beautiful box canyon.
The bedrock here looks to be a brittle
vertical cleaving slate... extra beautiful.
Notice the cascading water-flow... this is just downstream from the high
waterfall.
Below Corey stands between the waterfall
and the cascades... isn’t this bedrock unique here…???
beta facts:
name- North Fork Potato Canyon Slot
length of slot canyon- maybe a quarter mile
elevation- about 7600’
GPS coordinates- ±33°53.268’N 107°27.136’W
flow- intermittent
season to visit- most anytime except winter may
have ice & NEVER ENTER ANY SLOT CANYON WHEN
HEAVY RAIN IS IN THE FORECAST…!!!
accommodations- none, this area is quite primitive
ownership- Cibola National Forest
access- is from Forest Road 56… see the map below
nearest town- Magdalena is about 20 miles
northeast of here
fun fact- This area is desolate and AWESOME…!
! !
The one 30’ rappel is the only technical
move here, but this is a fine canyon experience. We were surprised to find perennial flowing
water here during such an extremely dry time of drought- April 16, 2018. The yellow line on the map below is the
route we took hiking into this upper canyon.
This canyon above the falls can be explored without ropes and gear by
hiking/scrambling down in and back out this same route.
Enhanced USGS topo map
Please
right-click-save-as on our map below to have a hand held hard copy with you in
the field
The Red Lines depict
sections of “slot canyons”
Back to New Mexico
Slot Canyons
Send questions and comments to dscott@themarblesculptor.com