United States Canyon
Columbia River Gorge
890 m of rock, cut by the Columbia River.
Hux · Public domain
The cut
890 metres, to scale.
A slice through Columbia River Gorge 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 · Empire State · 443 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.
890m
Depth
published figure: 1,200 m
15.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
50°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
22m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 22 °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 February. The wettest months are in March and from November to January.
- 8°2°Jan
- 9°3°Feb
- 12°6°Mar
- 15°9°Apr
- 20°14°May
- 22°16°Jun
- 28°22°Jul
- 28°22°Aug
- 24°18°Sep
- 17°11°Oct
- 11°5°Nov
- 7°1°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 along the border of Oregon and Washington in the United States
Columbia River Gorge is a canyon in United States, cut by the Columbia River. The relief model measures 890 m from the floor to the lower rim. The published depth is 1,200 m. Rim to rim it is 15 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Getting there.
- Carsonnearest town · 3.1 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,170 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.4 km from the floor
- Portland International Airport (PDX)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 64 km in a straight lineCar hire at PDX airport (Portland)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.
The river
The Columbia River runs highest from December to March.
The Columbia River carries about 27 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from December to March. It is lowest from June to September.
- 50 m³/sJan
- 41 m³/sFeb
- 39 m³/sMar
- 32 m³/sApr
- 23 m³/sMay
- 15 m³/sJun
- 8.1 m³/sJul
- 6.0 m³/sAug
- 8.2 m³/sSep
- 20 m³/sOct
- 34 m³/sNov
- 47 m³/sDec
From about 6.0 m³/s in the lowest month to 50 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 584 km².
Follow the Columbia 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.
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.
- 2viewpoints within 5 km
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmDry Creek Falls Hike, PCT - Oregon Section G, Herman Creek Trail
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmHome Valley Park Road, Gorge Trail #400
- 2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmHome Valley
- 1swimming spots within 3 km
- 3named waterfalls within 4 kmEmerald Falls, Gorton Creek Falls, Nick Eaton Falls
- 18car parks within 3 km
- 3information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 11campsites within 8 kmRidge Camp, North Lake Campsite, Deadwood Camp and 8 more
- 11hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCarson Ridge Cabins, Wilder & Pine Riverside Cabins, Rodeway Inn and 8 more
- 6restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- caves within 3 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
- Carson3.1 km in a straight line
- Stevenson7.3 km in a straight line
- Cascade Locks8.6 km in a straight line
- Hood River21 km in a straight line
- Odell21 km in a straight line
- White Salmon24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Columbia River Gorge.
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.
Cascadyas5 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas21 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 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 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 22 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 1 |
| Night · rim | -4 | -4 | -2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 2 | -1 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 200 | 137 | 166 | 114 | 81 | 57 | 11 | 19 | 52 | 128 | 196 | 233 |
| Rainy days | 20 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 20 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.5 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 8.1 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 13.3 | 11.5 | 9.1 | 6.2 | 3.6 | 2.2 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 14 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 16 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 2 | -4 | 200 | 2.5 |
| Feb | 9 | 3 | -4 | 137 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 12 | 6 | -2 | 166 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 15 | 9 | 0 | 114 | 8.1 |
| May | 20 | 14 | 4 | 81 | 9.7 |
| Jun | 22 | 16 | 6 | 57 | 11.4 |
| Jul | 28 | 22 | 8 | 11 | 13.3 |
| Aug | 28 | 22 | 9 | 19 | 11.5 |
| Sep | 24 | 18 | 6 | 52 | 9.1 |
| Oct | 17 | 11 | 2 | 128 | 6.2 |
| Nov | 11 | 5 | -1 | 196 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 7 | 1 | -4 | 233 | 2.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (22 m) and the rim (958 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 | 166% | 109% | 72% | 59% | 158% | 196% | 80% | 47% | 120% | 87% | 124% | 90% |
| 2021 | 113% | 184% | 47% | 23% | 63% | 78% | 11% | 19% | 176% | 105% | 135% | 123% |
| 2022 | 106% | 77% | 75% | 169% | 216% | 228% | 96% | 15% | 31% | 71% | 106% | 96% |
| 2023 | 59% | 85% | 96% | 138% | 49% | 45% | 28% | 126% | 109% | 78% | 90% | 114% |
| 2024 | 170% | 127% | 78% | 79% | 133% | 116% | 103% | 129% | 55% | 87% | 127% | 127% |
| 2025 | 54% | 138% | 125% | 50% | 74% | 41% | 53% | 165% | 69% | 114% | 90% | 155% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Columbia River Gorge
United States
- 890 mDepth
- 15 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 50°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1112581) · 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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canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here