SchiDD · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
188 metres, to scale.
A slice through Basses Gorges du Verdon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 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.
188m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
2.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
28°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
7.7km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 32 °C. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The wettest months are from October to December.
- 9°8°Jan
- 10°9°Feb
- 14°12°Mar
- 18°16°Apr
- 22°21°May
- 28°27°Jun
- 32°30°Jul
- 31°29°Aug
- 25°24°Sep
- 20°18°Oct
- 14°13°Nov
- 10°9°Dec
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.
Canyon of the river Verdon in France
Basses Gorges du Verdon is a canyon in France, cut by the Verdon river. The relief model measures 188 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 7.7 km. Rim to rim it is 2.0 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Verdon Regional Natural Park.
Getting there.
- Saint-Juliennearest town · 7.8 km in a straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
- Toulon-Hyères Airport (TLN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 69 km in a straight lineCar hire at TLN airport (Hyères, Var)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Octoberbest 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.
The river
The Verdon runs highest from November to December.
The Verdon carries about 24 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to December. It is lowest from June to September.
- 25 m³/sJan
- 20 m³/sFeb
- 20 m³/sMar
- 18 m³/sApr
- 16 m³/sMay
- 9.9 m³/sJun
- 5.9 m³/sJul
- 4.9 m³/sAug
- 9.3 m³/sSep
- 22 m³/sOct
- 37 m³/sNov
- 33 m³/sDec
From about 4.9 m³/s in the lowest month to 37 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,731 km².
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
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.
N
1.2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.0 × 5.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 17viewpoints within 5 kmBelvédère de la Tuilière and 16 more
- 37marked hiking routes within 4 kmLe Sentier Botanique, Chemin du Vieux Quinson, Chemin du Lierre and 34 more
- 6climbing crags within 3 kmSecteur Rive Gauche, Secteur d'Esparron, Secteur la Quille and 3 more
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 9caves within 3 km
- 10car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 22campsites within 8 kmLe Troumpetoun, Les Eouvières, Caming Vivre Plain and 19 more
- 13hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLe moulin du château, gite de l'escargot, Les Cades and 10 more
- 10restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 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
- Saint-Julien7.8 km in a straight line
- Gréoux-les-Bains11 km in a straight line
- Régusse12 km in a straight line
- Ginasservis13 km in a straight line
- Riez14 km in a straight line
- Valensole14 km in a straight line
- Vinon-sur-Verdon15 km in a straight line
- Barjols17 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Basses Gorges du Verdon.
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.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 9 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 10 |
| Afternoon · rim | 8 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 24 | 18 | 13 | 9 |
| Night · rim | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| Rain (mm) | 52 | 46 | 50 | 49 | 51 | 29 | 14 | 20 | 48 | 87 | 109 | 72 |
| Rainy days | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.5 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 9.1 | 11.1 | 11.8 | 10.6 | 8.3 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 8 | 0 | 52 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 10 | 9 | 0 | 46 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 14 | 12 | 3 | 50 | 7.0 |
| Apr | 18 | 16 | 6 | 49 | 7.8 |
| May | 22 | 21 | 10 | 51 | 9.1 |
| Jun | 28 | 27 | 15 | 29 | 11.1 |
| Jul | 32 | 30 | 17 | 14 | 11.8 |
| Aug | 31 | 29 | 17 | 20 | 10.6 |
| Sep | 25 | 24 | 13 | 48 | 8.3 |
| Oct | 20 | 18 | 9 | 87 | 5.9 |
| Nov | 14 | 13 | 5 | 109 | 4.4 |
| Dec | 10 | 9 | 1 | 72 | 4.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (358 m) and the rim (557 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 48% | 14% | 85% | 85% | 144% | 206% | 18% | 74% | 84% | 64% | 35% | 86% |
| 2021 | 127% | 57% | 9% | 143% | 122% | 67% | 79% | 67% | 81% | 78% | 50% | 67% |
| 2022 | 4% | 53% | 35% | 59% | 37% | 70% | 79% | 202% | 96% | 18% | 57% | 152% |
| 2023 | 33% | 34% | 19% | 24% | 96% | 164% | 37% | 114% | 89% | 72% | 30% | 72% |
| 2024 | 75% | 200% | 315% | 66% | 105% | 126% | 43% | 50% | 175% | 188% | 30% | 12% |
| 2025 | 66% | 38% | 86% | 49% | 24% | 22% | 46% | 60% | 48% | 23% | 22% | 48% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q111974909) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, 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.






