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Alplochschlucht01

Austria Austria Slot canyon

Alplochschlucht

373 m of rock, cut by the Spätenbach.

See the cutWhen to go

Ramessos · CC BY-SA 3.0

The cut

373 metres, to scale.

A slice through Alplochschlucht where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

831 m957 m373 m5.7 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 1.3831 m957 m373 m5.7 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 2.6

Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.

373m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

5.7km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

34°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

458m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

3 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 21 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to June and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are from June to August: in a narrow canyon a flash flood arrives without warning, even from rain upstream.

rim · 957 mfloor · 458 m
  1. 4°1°Jan
  2. 5°2°Feb
  3. 9°6°Mar
  4. 15°11°Apr
  5. 19°16°May
  6. 23°19°Jun
  7. 24°21°Jul
  8. 24°20°Aug
  9. 20°16°Sep
  10. 16°12°Oct
  11. 10°6°Nov
  12. 5°2°Dec
Hike: May–Jun, SepFrost on the rim: Dec–MarWettest: Jun–Aug

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

Slot canyon in the Bregenz Forest Mountains in Vorarlberg, Austria

Alplochschlucht is a slot canyon in Austria, cut by the Spätenbach river. The relief model measures 373 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 499 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 5.7 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

  • Dornbirnnearest town · 4.9 km in a straight line
  • Parking 270 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.7 km from the floor
  • Sankt Gallen Altenrhein Airport (ACH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 20 km in a straight lineCar hire at ACH airport (St. Gallen)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From May to June and in Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Alplochschlucht seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 3 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 12 × 12 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 27viewpoints within 5 kmSchönblick, Karren-Kante, Verschnufer Bänkli and 24 more
  • 103marked hiking routes within 4 kmNordalpenweg 01, [E4] Europäischer Fernwanderweg [003], Schwarzenberg-Rundweg and 100 more
  • 1via ferrata routes within 4 kmWandfluhgrat
  • 6climbing crags within 3 kmBlock, Wassermannweg, Kunstwand and 3 more
  • 37footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmKarrensteg, Alplochschlucht, Amannsbrücke and 34 more
  • 2swimming spots within 3 km
  • 2named waterfalls within 4 kmFallbach, Müselbachfall
  • 88car parks within 3 km
  • 11information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 13bus stops within 2 km
  • 5campsites within 8 kmCampingplatz Diepoldsau, Camping Dornbirn, EUROCAMP and 2 more
  • 79hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGasthaus-Pension Alpenheim, Hotel Gasthof Hirschen Schwarzenberg, Kreiersalp and 76 more
  • 49restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Dornbirn4.9 km in a straight line
  • Hohenems6.9 km in a straight line
  • Schwarzenberg7.1 km in a straight line
  • Klaus7.8 km in a straight line
  • Schwarzach8.1 km in a straight line
  • Mellau8.5 km in a straight line
  • Diepoldsau9.1 km in a straight line
  • Alberschwende9.2 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Alplochschlucht.

The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.

Peakyas38 mountains within 15 km
Leuenkopf1,830 m · 7.1 kmAlpkopf1,788 m · 7.4 kmHoher Freschen2,004 m · 9.7 kmMatona1,998 m · 11 kmHochblanken2,068 m · 13 kmPortlahorn2,010 m · 14 kmDamülser Mittagsspitze2,095 m · 14 kmHochrohkopf1,975 m · 14 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor45915192324242016105
Afternoon · rim1261116192120161262
Night · rim-6-6-22611121284-1-5
Rain (mm)98769388148166163176120978497
Rainy days131215151920191815131314
Sun hours/day3.34.65.56.06.17.07.36.85.54.63.02.8
Snow on the ground (cm)25261884100261219
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan41-6983.3
Feb52-6764.6
Mar96-2935.5
Apr15112886.0
May191661486.1
Jun2319111667.0
Jul2421121637.3
Aug2420121766.8
Sep201681205.5
Oct16124974.6
Nov106-1843.0
Dec52-5972.8

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (458 m) and the rim (957 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Alplochschlucht, Argynnis adippe
Böhringer Friedrich · CC BY-SA 2.5
Alplochschlucht
Flappiegrrr · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dornbirn Alplochschlucht Ebniterach
Herbert Heim · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202052%221%85%57%68%152%81%133%113%134%33%99%
2021182%75%92%59%120%94%175%129%64%43%102%126%
202259%152%17%104%87%105%67%85%138%113%95%85%
202350%76%127%190%115%43%114%145%61%101%298%212%
2024115%91%130%134%150%138%115%83%172%108%85%89%
2025101%39%72%50%88%72%163%85%114%91%100%22%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Alplochschlucht

Austria

  • 373 mDepth
  • 5.7 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 34°Steepest wall

Rappenlochschlucht

Austria · 0 km

  • 526 mDepth
  • 12 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 49°Steepest wall

See the guide

Oerflaschlucht

Austria · 7 km

  • 626 mDepth
  • 16 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 40°Steepest wall

See the guide

Hirschensprung

Switzerland · 15 km

  • 1,038 mDepth
  • 19 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 39°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q14333297) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here