Italy Barbanera · CC BY 3.0
The cut
1,392 metres, to scale.
A slice through Canyon Rio Sass 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: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 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.
1,392m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
21.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
34°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
706m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
10 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 16 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in September. The rim freezes at night from October to April. The wettest months are from June to August.
- 3°-6°Jan
- 5°-5°Feb
- 10°0°Mar
- 15°5°Apr
- 20°10°May
- 24°14°Jun
- 26°16°Jul
- 25°15°Aug
- 21°11°Sep
- 16°6°Oct
- 10°0°Nov
- 5°-5°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 Rio Sass is a canyon in Italy, cut by the Rio Sass. The relief model measures 1,392 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 22 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Fondonearest town · 0.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 620 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.1 km from the floor
- Bolzano Airport (BZO)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 14 km in a straight lineCar hire at BZO airport (Bolzano)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- 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.
The river
The Rio Sass runs highest from May to September.
The Rio Sass carries about 2.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to September.
- 0.7 m³/sJan
- 0.7 m³/sFeb
- 1.9 m³/sMar
- 3.1 m³/sApr
- 4.3 m³/sMay
- 4.6 m³/sJun
- 4.4 m³/sJul
- 4.7 m³/sAug
- 3.6 m³/sSep
- 3.2 m³/sOct
- 2.8 m³/sNov
- 1.4 m³/sDec
From about 0.65 m³/s in the lowest month to 4.7 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 134 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
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.
- 8viewpoints within 5 km
- 22marked hiking routes within 4 kmVia delle Regole, Sentiero attrezzato del Mondino "Edmondo Janes", Sentier dal Verm and 19 more
- 2climbing crags within 3 kmMondino, Marino Stenico
- 18footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmVia Roma, Canyon Rio Sass and 16 more
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmBurrone della Diavola, Cascata Lago Smeraldo
- 1caves within 3 km
- 59car parks within 3 km
- 37information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 31bus stops within 2 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmZeltlagerplatz Matschatsch, Camping Park Baita Dolomiti, Belvedere Castelfondo
- 137hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAnsitz Feldererhof, Ferienwohnungen Wolkan, Steinegger and 134 more
- 33restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots 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
- Fondo0.7 km in a straight line
- Malosco0.9 km in a straight line
- Ronzone2.3 km in a straight line
- Castelfondo2.3 km in a straight line
- Sarnonico2.7 km in a straight line
- Brez3.1 km in a straight line
- Cavareno4.0 km in a straight line
- Ruffrè4.2 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Canyon Rio Sass.
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.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas37 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures 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 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 10 | 5 |
| Afternoon · rim | -6 | -5 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 0 | -5 |
| Night · rim | -16 | -15 | -10 | -5 | -1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | -3 | -8 | -13 |
| Rain (mm) | 34 | 36 | 46 | 65 | 97 | 107 | 114 | 126 | 88 | 87 | 82 | 46 |
| Rainy days | 8 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 9 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 23 | 24 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | -6 | -16 | 34 | 4.4 |
| Feb | 5 | -5 | -15 | 36 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 10 | 0 | -10 | 46 | 6.6 |
| Apr | 15 | 5 | -5 | 65 | 6.1 |
| May | 20 | 10 | -1 | 97 | 6.1 |
| Jun | 24 | 14 | 3 | 107 | 7.5 |
| Jul | 26 | 16 | 5 | 114 | 8.1 |
| Aug | 25 | 15 | 5 | 126 | 7.3 |
| Sep | 21 | 11 | 0 | 88 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 16 | 6 | -3 | 87 | 5.1 |
| Nov | 10 | 0 | -8 | 82 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 5 | -5 | -13 | 46 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (706 m) and the rim (2,194 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 39% | 69% | 96% | 58% | 77% | 129% | 91% | 177% | 103% | 195% | 13% | 303% |
| 2021 | 226% | 89% | 65% | 76% | 123% | 62% | 145% | 100% | 96% | 73% | 142% | 59% |
| 2022 | 58% | 87% | 11% | 105% | 80% | 99% | 90% | 92% | 248% | 65% | 69% | 81% |
| 2023 | 78% | 22% | 85% | 109% | 211% | 122% | 155% | 113% | 59% | 153% | 105% | 151% |
| 2024 | 115% | 170% | 172% | 80% | 173% | 139% | 90% | 50% | 160% | 165% | 11% | 58% |
| 2025 | 152% | 52% | 134% | 89% | 140% | 80% | 143% | 109% | 168% | 67% | 144% | 67% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Canyon Rio Sass
Italy
- 1,392 mDepth
- 22 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 34°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q34147272) · 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?
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