France B. Brassoud · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
1,217 metres, to scale.
A slice through Étroit du Siaix 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: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 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.
1,217m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
6.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
37°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0.5km
Length
Rim to floor
8 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 27 °C on the floor, against 19 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from November to April. The wettest months are in May.
- 6°-3°Jan
- 6°-2°Feb
- 10°1°Mar
- 15°7°Apr
- 20°12°May
- 25°17°Jun
- 27°19°Jul
- 27°18°Aug
- 23°14°Sep
- 18°10°Oct
- 12°3°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.
Mountain gorge in France
Étroit du Siaix is a canyon in France, cut by the Isère river. The relief model measures 1,217 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 0.5 km. Rim to rim it is 6.2 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Moûtiersnearest town · 5.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 60 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.8 km from the floor
- Chambéry Aix les Bains airport (CMF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 56 km in a straight lineCar hire at GVA airport (Geneva)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 Isère runs highest from April to May.
The Isère carries about 16 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from January to February.
- 7.0 m³/sJan
- 5.1 m³/sFeb
- 22 m³/sMar
- 37 m³/sApr
- 36 m³/sMay
- 26 m³/sJun
- 17 m³/sJul
- 12 m³/sAug
- 10 m³/sSep
- 9.8 m³/sOct
- 14 m³/sNov
- 12 m³/sDec
From about 5.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 37 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 891 km².
The Ruisseau le Coisin 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), 14 × 14 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 6viewpoints within 5 kmSommet du Mont Jovet, Belvédère du Grand Chêne and 4 more
- 32marked hiking routes within 4 kmChemin de Szombathely, Col du Petit Saint-Bernard - Moûtiers and 31 more
- 18climbing crags within 3 kmSecteur Busserolle - 7, Secteur Dauphiné - 1, Secteur Repères Géodesique/Mandibules - 11 and 15 more
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmCascade de la Chaille, Cascade du Tsorette
- 34car parks within 3 km
- 12information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmCamping du rocher de Glaisy, Camplodge 3 Vallées, Camping des Neiges and 6 more
- 83hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLa Cabrière, L'Adray, Auberge de Savoie and 80 more
- 3restaurants 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
- caves within 3 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
- Moûtiers5.6 km in a straight line
- Aigueblanche6.3 km in a straight line
- Aime6.7 km in a straight line
- Salins-les-Thermes6.8 km in a straight line
- Mâcot-la-Plagne7.5 km in a straight line
- Belle-Plagne10 km in a straight line
- Les Allues10 km in a straight line
- Bozel10 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Étroit du Siaix.
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
Peakyas34 mountains 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 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 12 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | -3 | -2 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 3 | -1 |
| Night · rim | -11 | -11 | -7 | -2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -5 | -10 |
| Rain (mm) | 73 | 57 | 70 | 69 | 103 | 88 | 79 | 78 | 65 | 71 | 88 | 79 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.0 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 8.7 | 9.6 | 8.5 | 7.1 | 5.2 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 44 | 53 | 41 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 29 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | -3 | -11 | 73 | 4.0 |
| Feb | 6 | -2 | -11 | 57 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 10 | 1 | -7 | 70 | 5.4 |
| Apr | 15 | 7 | -2 | 69 | 5.9 |
| May | 20 | 12 | 2 | 103 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 25 | 17 | 6 | 88 | 8.7 |
| Jul | 27 | 19 | 8 | 79 | 9.6 |
| Aug | 27 | 18 | 8 | 78 | 8.5 |
| Sep | 23 | 14 | 4 | 65 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 18 | 10 | 0 | 71 | 5.2 |
| Nov | 12 | 3 | -5 | 88 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 7 | -1 | -10 | 79 | 3.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (513 m) and the rim (1,824 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 | 50% | 164% | 105% | 85% | 113% | 159% | 56% | 124% | 104% | 179% | 19% | 76% |
| 2021 | 161% | 62% | 57% | 66% | 101% | 93% | 148% | 71% | 98% | 65% | 67% | 139% |
| 2022 | 27% | 80% | 19% | 92% | 72% | 60% | 38% | 83% | 127% | 87% | 73% | 102% |
| 2023 | 60% | 13% | 158% | 96% | 125% | 167% | 58% | 146% | 89% | 143% | 163% | 144% |
| 2024 | 96% | 127% | 198% | 100% | 188% | 148% | 95% | 56% | 251% | 214% | 45% | 76% |
| 2025 | 103% | 33% | 84% | 181% | 95% | 84% | 101% | 100% | 162% | 91% | 54% | 70% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Étroit du Siaix
France
- 1,217 mDepth
- 6.2 kmRim to rim
- 0.5 kmLength
- 37°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3592561) · 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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