United States Water gap
Cumberland Narrows
360 m of rock, cut by the Wills Creek.
Sethbernard87 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
360 metres, to scale.
A slice through Cumberland Narrows 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: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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.
360m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
28°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
179m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 31 °C on the floor, against 27 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are in May.
- 4°0°Jan
- 5°2°Feb
- 11°8°Mar
- 18°15°Apr
- 23°20°May
- 28°24°Jun
- 31°27°Jul
- 31°27°Aug
- 27°23°Sep
- 19°16°Oct
- 12°9°Nov
- 6°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.
Water gap in western Maryland, United States
Cumberland Narrows is a water gap in United States, cut by the Wills Creek. The relief model measures 360 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 546 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Cumberlandnearest town · 2.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 310 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- John Murtha Johnstown Cambria County Airport (JST)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 72 km in a straight lineCar hire at IAD airport (Dulles)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to May and in Octoberbest 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 Wills Creek runs highest from March to June.
The Wills Creek carries about 9.1 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to June.
- 7.2 m³/sJan
- 9.8 m³/sFeb
- 23 m³/sMar
- 30 m³/sApr
- 31 m³/sMay
- 21 m³/sJun
- 11 m³/sJul
- 3.7 m³/sAug
- 11 m³/sSep
- 14 m³/sOct
- 10 m³/sNov
- 6.5 m³/sDec
From about 3.7 m³/s in the lowest month to 31 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 646 km².
The North Branch Potomac River 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
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.
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmGreat Allegheny Passage, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail, Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (left bank)
- 14footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1caves within 3 km
- 192car parks within 3 km
- 9information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmWV House, Evitts Creek Hiker / Biker Campsite, Hillcrest River Kampground
- 11hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmMotel 6, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Comfort Inn & Suites and 8 more
- 29restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- viewpoints within 5 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
- 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
- Cumberland2.6 km in a straight line
- La Vale2.6 km in a straight line
- Bowling Green5.3 km in a straight line
- Wiley Ford6.1 km in a straight line
- Potomac Park6.6 km in a straight line
- Cresaptown9.4 km in a straight line
- Bel Air12 km in a straight line
- Frostburg12 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Cumberland Narrows.
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
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 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 27 | 19 | 12 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | 0 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 16 | 9 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -8 | -8 | -4 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 4 | -2 | -6 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 64 | 78 | 91 | 117 | 107 | 99 | 86 | 102 | 87 | 69 | 81 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.6 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 3.2 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 14 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 0 | -8 | 64 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 5 | 2 | -8 | 64 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 11 | 8 | -4 | 78 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 18 | 15 | 2 | 91 | 6.3 |
| May | 23 | 20 | 8 | 117 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 28 | 24 | 13 | 107 | 7.9 |
| Jul | 31 | 27 | 15 | 99 | 7.9 |
| Aug | 31 | 27 | 14 | 86 | 7.2 |
| Sep | 27 | 23 | 11 | 102 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 19 | 16 | 4 | 87 | 5.1 |
| Nov | 12 | 9 | -2 | 69 | 4.4 |
| Dec | 6 | 2 | -6 | 81 | 3.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (179 m) and the rim (725 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 | 126% | 90% | 97% | 138% | 47% | 73% | 69% | 126% | 62% | 110% | 196% | 111% |
| 2021 | 67% | 132% | 63% | 71% | 73% | 89% | 56% | 136% | 160% | 74% | 38% | 42% |
| 2022 | 87% | 98% | 68% | 72% | 123% | 64% | 85% | 99% | 91% | 68% | 126% | 101% |
| 2023 | 73% | 82% | 86% | 77% | 38% | 75% | 90% | 82% | 113% | 57% | 89% | 130% |
| 2024 | 227% | 121% | 122% | 130% | 84% | 67% | 66% | 198% | 95% | 22% | 75% | 88% |
| 2025 | 53% | 97% | 49% | 81% | 201% | 122% | 131% | 41% | 43% | 77% | 54% | 46% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Cumberland Narrows
United States
- 360 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5193930) · 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.
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