The Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre) is a system of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre Occidental, on the border between Sonora and Chihuahua. Collectively the system is larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon in the United States, and in its upper reaches it is home to the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) indigenous people, who are famous as long-distance runners and maintain many traditional ways.
The main access from Sonora is via the town of Hermosillo on Federal Highway 16, which crosses the sierra to Chihuahua. The legendary Chepe railway, which runs between Los Mochis in Sinaloa and Chihuahua city, passes through the canyon system and is the most spectacular way to see it. The high-altitude town of Creel in Chihuahua is the most common base for hiking, but adventurous travellers enter from the Sonoran side on less-travelled trails.