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Río Usumacinta a la altura de Boca del Cerro 02

Mexico Mexico Canyon

Cañón del Usumacinta

82 m from rim to floor.

See the cutWhen to go

ProtoplasmaKid · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

82 metres, to scale.

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

96 m202 m82 m18 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.096 m202 m82 m18 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

Standing on the floor, to scale: Tower of Pisa · 56 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.

82m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

17.8km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

15°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

14m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

Afternoons, up top and down below.

In April the afternoon reaches 37 °C. The best months to hike are from November to January. The floor passes 35 °C from April to May: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are in June and from August to October.

rim · 202 mfloor · 14 m
  1. 27°26°Jan
  2. 30°28°Feb
  3. 34°32°Mar
  4. 37°36°Apr
  5. 36°35°May
  6. 32°30°Jun
  7. 31°30°Jul
  8. 31°30°Aug
  9. 30°29°Sep
  10. 29°28°Oct
  11. 28°26°Nov
  12. 27°26°Dec
Hike: Nov–JanFloor above 35 °C: Apr–MayWettest: Jun, Aug–Oct

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.

Protected natural area in southern Mexico

Cañón del Usumacinta is a canyon in Mexico. The relief model measures 82 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 187 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 18 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at VSA airport (Villahermosa)Discover CarsSee prices 

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 the river runs highest from August to November.

The the river carries about 1,997 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from August to November. It is lowest from February to May.

  1. 1,277 m³/sJan
  2. 863 m³/sFeb
  3. 617 m³/sMar
  4. 407 m³/sApr
  5. 737 m³/sMay
  6. 2,127 m³/sJun
  7. 2,481 m³/sJul
  8. 3,109 m³/sAug
  9. 3,362 m³/sSep
  10. 3,787 m³/sOct
  11. 3,111 m³/sNov
  12. 2,012 m³/sDec

From about 407 m³/s in the lowest month to 3,787 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 49,475 km².

Follow the Usumacinta River 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.

Cañón del Usumacinta seen from above (Sentinel-2) 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.

  • 1car parks within 3 km
  • 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAuto Hotel Frances
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • 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
  • campsites within 8 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).

Towns nearby

  • Arena de Hidalgo7.6 km in a straight line
  • Tenosique10 km in a straight line
  • Estapilla16 km in a straight line
  • Río Chancalá22 km in a straight line
  • General Luis Felipe Domínguez Suárez23 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Cañón del Usumacinta.

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.

Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Usumacinta River560 km · 6.5 m³/s

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 · floor273034373632313130292827
Afternoon · rim262832363530303029282626
Night · rim171820222323222323221918
Rain (mm)9962435213829217625829726215091
Rainy days129771424242627221513
Sun hours/day5.66.87.88.17.97.68.68.47.76.56.46.2
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan272617995.6
Feb302818626.8
Mar343220437.8
Apr373622528.1
May3635231387.9
Jun3230232927.6
Jul3130221768.6
Aug3130232588.4
Sep3029232977.7
Oct2928222626.5
Nov2826191506.4
Dec272618916.2

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (14 m) and the rim (202 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

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
202074%127%26%49%160%161%60%166%138%158%215%99%
202180%47%110%36%139%98%75%60%91%93%53%96%
2022184%229%237%249%103%97%70%86%137%103%130%139%
2023114%111%168%3%19%30%145%77%59%57%193%132%
2024162%58%17%15%45%131%115%96%76%136%103%125%
202562%160%108%95%20%118%88%52%55%83%70%205%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Cañón del Usumacinta

Mexico

  • 82 mDepth
  • 18 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 15°Steepest wall

Sumidero Canyon

Mexico · 181 km

  • 807 mDepth
  • 1.3 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 64°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q5759660) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
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