Iceland Paul Bussé · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
292 metres, to scale.
A slice through Brúarhlöð 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.
292m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
14.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
16°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
76m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
2 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 13 °C on the floor, against 11 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from July to August. The rim freezes at night from November to April.
- 0°-2°Jan
- 0°-2°Feb
- 2°-1°Mar
- 4°2°Apr
- 7°4°May
- 11°8°Jun
- 13°11°Jul
- 12°10°Aug
- 9°6°Sep
- 5°2°Oct
- 2°-1°Nov
- 0°-2°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.
Brúarhlöð is a canyon in Iceland, cut by the Hvítá river. The relief model measures 292 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 387 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 14 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Parking 2,950 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.8 km from the floor
- Reykjavík Domestic Airport (RKV)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 84 km in a straight lineCar hire at RKV airport (Reykjavík)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From July to Augustbest 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 Hvítá runs highest from June to July.
The Hvítá carries about 91 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from June to July, fed by melting snow.
- 39 m³/sJan
- 32 m³/sFeb
- 30 m³/sMar
- 49 m³/sApr
- 140 m³/sMay
- 269 m³/sJun
- 183 m³/sJul
- 81 m³/sAug
- 89 m³/sSep
- 78 m³/sOct
- 61 m³/sNov
- 60 m³/sDec
From about 30 m³/s in the lowest month to 269 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 2,176 km².
Follow the Hvítá from source to mouth on Riveryas
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
6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmSkjól, Tjaldsvæðið við Geysi, Tjaldsvæðið við Faxa
- 17hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHótel Gullfoss, Skálinn, Geysir Hestar and 14 more
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- restaurants and cafés within 4 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Brúarhlöð.
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.
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas5 mountains within 15 kmFigures 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 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Afternoon · rim | -2 | -2 | -1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 2 | -1 | -2 |
| Night · rim | -7 | -7 | -7 | -4 | -1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | -2 | -5 | -7 |
| Rain (mm) | 182 | 167 | 163 | 132 | 99 | 91 | 116 | 118 | 182 | 152 | 154 | 186 |
| Rainy days | 23 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.9 | 2.6 | 6.2 | 10.3 | 12.0 | 11.2 | 9.2 | 7.5 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 94 | 119 | 141 | 144 | 102 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 34 | 61 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | -2 | -7 | 182 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 0 | -2 | -7 | 167 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 2 | -1 | -7 | 163 | 6.2 |
| Apr | 4 | 2 | -4 | 132 | 10.3 |
| May | 7 | 4 | -1 | 99 | 12.0 |
| Jun | 11 | 8 | 3 | 91 | 11.2 |
| Jul | 13 | 11 | 5 | 116 | 9.2 |
| Aug | 12 | 10 | 4 | 118 | 7.5 |
| Sep | 9 | 6 | 2 | 182 | 5.2 |
| Oct | 5 | 2 | -2 | 152 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 2 | -1 | -5 | 154 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 0 | -2 | -7 | 186 | 0.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (76 m) and the rim (463 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 | 152% | 79% | 102% | 105% | 107% | 116% | 84% | 139% | 135% | 56% | 110% | 69% |
| 2021 | 59% | 66% | 117% | 94% | 42% | 132% | 97% | 92% | 136% | 105% | 143% | 75% |
| 2022 | 156% | 69% | 184% | 61% | 129% | 137% | 122% | 126% | 67% | 82% | 44% | 40% |
| 2023 | 90% | 162% | 34% | 68% | 247% | 146% | 29% | 69% | 103% | 85% | 61% | 85% |
| 2024 | 95% | 73% | 58% | 63% | 131% | 139% | 118% | 116% | 68% | 126% | 120% | 130% |
| 2025 | 92% | 128% | 133% | 69% | 117% | 121% | 134% | 85% | 107% | 97% | 29% | 68% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Brúarhlöð
Iceland
- 292 mDepth
- 14 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 16°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q14655790) · 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
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