Switzerland Keimzelle · CC0
The cut
549 metres, to scale.
A slice through Combe Grède 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.
549m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
5.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
33°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
716m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 17 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from November to March.
- 2°-3°Jan
- 3°-2°Feb
- 8°2°Mar
- 13°7°Apr
- 16°11°May
- 21°15°Jun
- 22°17°Jul
- 22°17°Aug
- 18°13°Sep
- 14°8°Oct
- 7°2°Nov
- 3°-3°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.
Chine on the northern flank of the Chasseral in the municipality of Villeret in the canton of Bern, Switzerland
Combe Grède is a gorge in Switzerland. The relief model measures 549 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 852 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 5.9 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Saint-Imiernearest town · 3.0 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,250 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.1 km from the floor
- Bern Airport (BRN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 43 km in a straight lineCar hire at BRN airport (Bern)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to 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 the river runs highest in January, from March to August and in October.
The the river carries about 2.5 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in January, from March to August and in October.
- 2.1 m³/sJan
- 1.6 m³/sFeb
- 2.6 m³/sMar
- 2.5 m³/sApr
- 3.5 m³/sMay
- 2.8 m³/sJun
- 2.1 m³/sJul
- 2.1 m³/sAug
- 1.4 m³/sSep
- 1.9 m³/sOct
- 1.4 m³/sNov
- 1.8 m³/sDec
From about 1.4 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.5 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 109 km².
The Suze from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
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
3 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 13 × 13 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 9viewpoints within 5 kmLa Corne, Belvédère, Chasseral panorama and 6 more
- 82marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean long distance path E4 - part Switzerland and 81 more
- 11footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1caves within 3 km
- 40car parks within 3 km
- 47information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 13bus stops within 2 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmCamping Creux-des-Biches, Stellplatz Les Bugnenets, Le Pâquier, Fraso-Ranch and 2 more
- 30hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmde la Balance, Le Moment, Métairie de la Neuveville and 27 more
- 21restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls 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
- Saint-Imier3.0 km in a straight line
- Courtelary5.1 km in a straight line
- Les Breuleux8.0 km in a straight line
- Dombresson9.5 km in a straight line
- La Neuveville9.7 km in a straight line
- Le Landeron9.8 km in a straight line
- Cressier10 km in a straight line
- Corgémont10 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Combe Grède.
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
Peakyas25 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 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | -3 | -2 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 2 | -3 |
| Night · rim | -9 | -9 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -5 | -8 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 66 | 86 | 83 | 124 | 112 | 113 | 118 | 83 | 100 | 85 | 96 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.2 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 6.4 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | -3 | -9 | 85 | 2.2 |
| Feb | 3 | -2 | -9 | 66 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 2 | -6 | 86 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 13 | 7 | -2 | 83 | 6.5 |
| May | 16 | 11 | 2 | 124 | 6.8 |
| Jun | 21 | 15 | 6 | 112 | 8.4 |
| Jul | 22 | 17 | 8 | 113 | 8.5 |
| Aug | 22 | 17 | 8 | 118 | 7.6 |
| Sep | 18 | 13 | 4 | 83 | 6.4 |
| Oct | 14 | 8 | 0 | 100 | 4.3 |
| Nov | 7 | 2 | -5 | 85 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 3 | -3 | -8 | 96 | 1.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (716 m) and the rim (1,569 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 | 55% | 187% | 90% | 46% | 92% | 150% | 42% | 94% | 96% | 178% | 31% | 92% |
| 2021 | 122% | 73% | 62% | 49% | 128% | 148% | 158% | 64% | 73% | 74% | 63% | 147% |
| 2022 | 54% | 119% | 28% | 124% | 45% | 102% | 36% | 65% | 214% | 88% | 136% | 113% |
| 2023 | 92% | 23% | 137% | 126% | 64% | 40% | 89% | 81% | 55% | 141% | 281% | 160% |
| 2024 | 119% | 108% | 113% | 112% | 143% | 132% | 82% | 78% | 228% | 150% | 83% | 113% |
| 2025 | 154% | 58% | 50% | 88% | 70% | 107% | 108% | 109% | 189% | 135% | 155% | 28% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Combe Grède
Switzerland
- 549 mDepth
- 5.9 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 33°Steepest wall
Gorges du Doubs
Switzerland · 26 km
- 377 mDepth
- 4.4 kmRim to rim
- 40 kmLength
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2985022) · 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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