Spain Gorge
Desfiladero de La Hermida
767 m of rock, cut by the Río de Corvera.
Frobles · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
767 metres, to scale.
A slice through Desfiladero de La Hermida 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.
767m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
45°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
48m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
7 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 17 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to July and from September to October. The wettest months are from November to January.
- 13°5°Jan
- 13°5°Feb
- 14°7°Mar
- 16°8°Apr
- 18°11°May
- 21°14°Jun
- 23°16°Jul
- 24°17°Aug
- 23°15°Sep
- 20°13°Oct
- 16°8°Nov
- 14°6°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.
Desfiladero de La Hermida is a gorge in Spain, cut by the Río de Corvera. The relief model measures 767 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,112 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 3.5 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Tresvisonearest town · 3.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,860 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Mirador del Salmónnearest viewpoint · 3.1 km from the floor
- Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport (SDR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 67 km in a straight lineCar hire at SDR airport (Santander)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to July and from September to 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 Río de Corvera runs highest from November to March.
The Río de Corvera carries about 15 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to March. It is lowest from July to September.
- 24 m³/sJan
- 21 m³/sFeb
- 19 m³/sMar
- 16 m³/sApr
- 11 m³/sMay
- 7.7 m³/sJun
- 4.8 m³/sJul
- 3.9 m³/sAug
- 5.1 m³/sSep
- 12 m³/sOct
- 22 m³/sNov
- 24 m³/sDec
From about 3.9 m³/s in the lowest month to 24 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 580 km².
The Deva 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
1.9 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 7.5 × 7.5 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 9viewpoints within 5 kmAsomaa de Jozarcu, Mirador del Salmón, Mirador La Sotorraña and 6 more
- 7marked hiking routes within 4 kmSenda de la Reserva del Saja, Vía ferrata de La Hermida, Ruta Urdón - Tresviso and 4 more
- 8via ferrata routes within 4 kmVía ferrata de La Hermida, Vía ferrata Peñaruscos K6, Vía Ferrata Escalera al Cielo K3 and 5 more
- 3climbing crags within 3 km
- 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmSenda de Urdón a Tresviso and 3 more
- 11caves within 3 km
- 8car parks within 3 km
- 3information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmÁrea autocaravanas de Panes (Peñamellera Baja), Aparcamiento La Picota
- 23hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmPosada Rural La Cuadrona, Albergue de Cicera, Hospedaje Marisa and 20 more
- 3restaurants and cafés within 4 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
- Tresviso3.7 km in a straight line
- Potes12 km in a straight line
- Camaleño14 km in a straight line
- Cabezón de Liébana15 km in a straight line
- Carreña19 km in a straight line
- Llanes20 km in a straight line
- San Vicente de la Barquera23 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Desfiladero de La Hermida.
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.
Riveryas4 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas5 mountains within 15 km
Coastya4 beaches within 15 kmFigures 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 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 14 |
| Afternoon · rim | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 6 |
| Night · rim | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Rain (mm) | 123 | 102 | 94 | 77 | 62 | 53 | 34 | 37 | 50 | 100 | 137 | 118 |
| Rainy days | 16 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.7 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 5 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | 5 | 2 | 123 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 13 | 5 | 1 | 102 | 3.8 |
| Mar | 14 | 7 | 2 | 94 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 16 | 8 | 4 | 77 | 6.2 |
| May | 18 | 11 | 6 | 62 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 21 | 14 | 9 | 53 | 7.3 |
| Jul | 23 | 16 | 11 | 34 | 7.7 |
| Aug | 24 | 17 | 12 | 37 | 7.4 |
| Sep | 23 | 15 | 11 | 50 | 6.8 |
| Oct | 20 | 13 | 8 | 100 | 4.8 |
| Nov | 16 | 8 | 5 | 137 | 3.0 |
| Dec | 14 | 6 | 3 | 118 | 2.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (48 m) and the rim (1,160 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 | 40% | 29% | 135% | 143% | 98% | 136% | 55% | 188% | 218% | 266% | 34% | 341% |
| 2021 | 173% | 108% | 39% | 71% | 103% | 197% | 112% | 89% | 161% | 70% | 243% | 202% |
| 2022 | 71% | 35% | 128% | 137% | 36% | 105% | 32% | 117% | 238% | 41% | 119% | 106% |
| 2023 | 247% | 81% | 35% | 43% | 89% | 149% | 84% | 116% | 202% | 114% | 136% | 103% |
| 2024 | 114% | 156% | 139% | 52% | 159% | 102% | 70% | 118% | 286% | 188% | 75% | 108% |
| 2025 | 77% | 76% | 165% | 98% | 114% | 79% | 124% | 175% | 162% | 35% | 129% | 120% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Desfiladero de La Hermida
Spain
- 767 mDepth
- 3.5 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 45°Steepest wall
Desfiladero de Los Beyos
Spain · 39 km
- 1,022 mDepth
- 5.9 kmRim to rim
- 20 kmLength
- 36°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1906567) · 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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