Spain Canyon
Desfiladero de Pancorbo
405 m of rock, cut by the Oroncillo River.
Javierme Javier Mediavilla Ezquibela · CC BY 3.0
The cut
405 metres, to scale.
A slice through Desfiladero de Pancorbo 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
405m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
14.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
28°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
558m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 25 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and from September to October. The wettest months are in November.
- 9°6°Jan
- 10°7°Feb
- 14°11°Mar
- 17°14°Apr
- 20°17°May
- 26°22°Jun
- 28°25°Jul
- 28°25°Aug
- 24°21°Sep
- 20°16°Oct
- 13°10°Nov
- 10°7°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 Pancorbo is a canyon in Spain, cut by the Oroncillo River. The relief model measures 405 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 467 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 14 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Pancorbonearest town · 1.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 170 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Mirador de La Peña del Mazonearest viewpoint · 3.0 km from the floor
- Vitoria Airport (VIT)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 41 km in a straight lineCar hire at BIO airport (Bilbao)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May 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 Oroncillo River runs highest from November to May.
The Oroncillo River carries about 2.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to May. It is lowest from August to September.
- 3.8 m³/sJan
- 3.5 m³/sFeb
- 3.9 m³/sMar
- 3.7 m³/sApr
- 3.0 m³/sMay
- 2.0 m³/sJun
- 1.0 m³/sJul
- 0.5 m³/sAug
- 0.8 m³/sSep
- 2.0 m³/sOct
- 3.8 m³/sNov
- 3.5 m³/sDec
From about 0.54 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.9 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 148 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.
- 5viewpoints within 5 kmMirador de Peña del Mazo, Mirador de La Peña del Mazo, Mirador del Castillete and 2 more
- 6marked hiking routes within 4 kmPancorbo, Encio, Agua y Roca: del Ebro a los Obarenes and 3 more
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmEscuela Escalada Pancorbo
- 8footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPuente Mayor and 7 more
- 3caves within 3 km
- 9car parks within 3 km
- 11information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmAparcamiento de Autocaravanas, Camping Monumento al Pastor, Camping El Desfiladero and 1 more
- 4hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHotel Pancorbo, Poli, Casa rural Campajares and 1 more
- 11restaurants 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
- 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
- Pancorbo1.2 km in a straight line
- Encío3.6 km in a straight line
- Ameyugo3.6 km in a straight line
- Altable4.5 km in a straight line
- Villanueva de Teba5.3 km in a straight line
- Foncea5.7 km in a straight line
- Bugedo6.8 km in a straight line
- Valluércanes7.7 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Desfiladero de Pancorbo.
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.
Peakyas1 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 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 13 | 10 |
| Afternoon · rim | 6 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 10 | 7 |
| Night · rim | -2 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 1 | -1 |
| Rain (mm) | 65 | 54 | 61 | 58 | 56 | 47 | 29 | 25 | 35 | 58 | 75 | 57 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.0 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 11.2 | 10.0 | 8.1 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 7 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 6 | -2 | 65 | 3.0 |
| Feb | 10 | 7 | -2 | 54 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 14 | 11 | 0 | 61 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 17 | 14 | 2 | 58 | 6.8 |
| May | 20 | 17 | 6 | 56 | 8.5 |
| Jun | 26 | 22 | 9 | 47 | 9.9 |
| Jul | 28 | 25 | 11 | 29 | 11.2 |
| Aug | 28 | 25 | 11 | 25 | 10.0 |
| Sep | 24 | 21 | 9 | 35 | 8.1 |
| Oct | 20 | 16 | 6 | 58 | 5.6 |
| Nov | 13 | 10 | 1 | 75 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 10 | 7 | -1 | 57 | 3.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (558 m) and the rim (1,025 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 | 58% | 18% | 178% | 178% | 119% | 149% | 112% | 173% | 134% | 146% | 48% | 210% |
| 2021 | 115% | 106% | 24% | 75% | 75% | 160% | 30% | 38% | 191% | 69% | 150% | 174% |
| 2022 | 53% | 16% | 90% | 112% | 33% | 38% | 29% | 78% | 79% | 50% | 106% | 108% |
| 2023 | 130% | 48% | 23% | 40% | 61% | 177% | 50% | 51% | 227% | 101% | 98% | 62% |
| 2024 | 56% | 128% | 83% | 29% | 124% | 111% | 62% | 276% | 288% | 204% | 39% | 110% |
| 2025 | 74% | 53% | 127% | 101% | 113% | 113% | 77% | 62% | 55% | 44% | 118% | 75% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Desfiladero de Pancorbo
Spain
- 405 mDepth
- 14 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5804143) · 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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