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Lookout · Richardson Highway

Keystone Canyon

OpenStreetMap
Keystone Canyon — direction of view not recorded. Terrain and imagery at true elevation.
Overview · Assembled from verified data

This overlook sits along the Richardson Highway at 346 feet elevation, on Keystone Canyon, a gorge near Valdez with an elevation of 307 feet and nearly perpendicular walls. The canyon runs 3 miles in length, connecting the upper and lower valleys of the Lowe River. The terrain drops 46 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. Meteorite Mountain is visible to the south-southwest, 5.8 miles away, rising to 6,497 feet. Valdez lies 15.3 miles to the west-northwest, and Cordova is 36.0 miles to the south. Daylight varies through the year: on the March equinox, sunrise is at 07:45 and sunset at 19:58; on the June solstice, sunrise comes at 04:07 and sunset at 23:25; on the September equinox, sunrise is 07:29 and sunset 19:46; and on the December solstice, sunrise is 09:57 with sunset at 15:28. Robe Lake Viewpoint precedes this stop along the route, and Thompson Pass Viewpoint follows it.

Access
On the byway
Elevation
346 ft
Relief
46 ft drop
In view
1 named features
Photos · Real imagery only
Hornemann's Willowherb ( Epilobium hornemannii )
naokitakebayashi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
In view · Named features

What you’re looking at

Named terrain around this overlook, nearest first. No view direction is recorded, so every bearing is listed.

  • Meteorite Mountain6,497 ftsouth-southwest · 5.8 mi
When to look · Sun at this latitude

Light

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox07:4519:5819:02
June solstice04:0723:2521:59
September equinox07:2919:4618:49
December solstice09:5715:28—

Local time (America/Anchorage). Computed for this exact position.

Getting there · Position and access

Where it is

  • Valdez15.3 mi west-northwest
  • Cordova36.0 mi south
← Before it: Robe Lake ViewpointAfter it: Thompson Pass Viewpoint →
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From the source · Verbatim

Meteorite Mountain · WikipediaCC BY-SA

Meteorite Mountain is a prominent 6,565-foot (2,001 m) glaciated mountain summit located in the Chugach Mountains, in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is situated 16 mi (26 km) southeast of Valdez, 9 mi (14 km) south of Hogback Ridge, and 9 mi (14 km) southeast of Mount Francis. In January 1927, a meteorite hit this mountain, which is how the mountain got its name. The mountain's name was in local use when it was first published in 1953 by U.S. Geological Survey. Precipitation runoff and meltwater from the mountain's glaciers drains into tributaries of the Lowe River, which in turn empties to Prince William Sound.

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WikipediaCC BY-SA

Keystone Canyon is a gorge near Valdez in the U.S. state of Alaska. Situated at an elevation of 307 feet (94 m), its walls are almost perpendicular. It measures 3 miles (4.8 km) in length, connecting the upper and lower valleys of Lowe River.

Read it at Wikipedia →
Common questions

How high is Keystone Canyon?

Keystone Canyon sits at about 346 feet (106 m).

What can you see from Keystone Canyon?

From Keystone Canyon: Meteorite Mountain (SSW, 5.8 mi).

What is the nearest town to Keystone Canyon?

Valdez, 15 miles WNW of Keystone Canyon.

What is the next lookout after Keystone Canyon?

Thompson Pass Viewpoint is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Keystone Canyon.

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Keystone Canyon — confirmed, rated, and photographed by people who actually pulled over. A local confirmation is what upgrades a lookout from Discovered to Verified. Zero hallucinations.

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