At the Chittenden Bridge the lazy flow the river has enjoyed during its’ eight mile passage through the Hayden Valley begins to quicken through a series of rapids before it drops over the 109 foot high Upper Falls then half mile later over the 308 foot Lower Falls at the head of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Otter are routinely active in this stretch of the river. Recent tracks are visible in the lower left of the photograph. In the distance, upriver, a snowy ridge marks the place where the Wolf Lake forest fire jumped the river in the summer of 1988.

On a snowy afternoon the vivid colors of the canyon are muted. Snow pillows grow on the walls. In this upper end the canyon is as narrow as 1500 feet and as deep as 1200 feet. The canyon is a startling gash in the surrounding gentle landscape.