Box Elder Canyon cuts through the western slopes of the Wellsville Mountains in northern Utah and forms the western half of a main passage across this part of the Wasatch Range. Together with Wellsville Canyon on the east, it carries U.S. Route 89 and U.S. Route 91 between Brigham City and Cache Valley. The canyon was carved by a prehistoric river that once flowed into ancient Lake Bonneville. Box Elder Creek now runs westward through it from Mantua Reservoir, created in 1961 near Mantua. The canyon remains important as both a scenic mountain drainage and a vital transportation corridor through steep terrain.