Sautso ( sme, Čávžu), also referred as Alta Canyon, is a canyon (valley) along the river

Altaelva Altaelva ( en, Alta River; sme, Álttáeatnu; fkv, Alattionjoki) is the third-longest river in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The river begins in the mountains and lakes in Kautokeino Municipality, near the border with Troms og Finnmark ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The valley is located in

Alta Municipality ( se, Áltá ; fkv, Alattio; fi, Alattio) is the most populated municipality in Finnmark in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alta. Some of the main villages in the municipality in ...

, just north of the border with

Kautokeino Municipality Kautokeino ( no, Kautokeino; se, Guovdageaidnu ; fkv, Koutokeino; fi, Koutokeino) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villages ...

. The canyon is about long and about deep, making it the largest canyon of Northern Europe. The canyon begins just downstream (north) from the Alta Power Station. The river flows down from the

Finnmarksvidda Finnmarksvidda ( sme, Finnmárkkoduottar; en, Finnmark plateau/highland) is Norway's largest plateau, with an area greater than . The plateau lies about above sea level. Approximately 36% of Finnmark lies on the Finnmarksvidda. Geography Fr ...

plateau (elevation: ) into the canyon (elevation: ), so the walls of the canyon clearly show many sedimentary layers.

References

Canyons and gorges of Norway Alta, Norway Landforms of Troms og Finnmark {{TromsFinnmark-geo-stub