Edmilson sanches · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
569 metres, to scale.
A slice through Fortaleza Canyon 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.
569m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
6.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
42°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
220m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In January the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 24 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to September.
- 28°24°Jan
- 28°24°Feb
- 27°23°Mar
- 25°21°Apr
- 21°17°May
- 20°16°Jun
- 19°16°Jul
- 21°17°Aug
- 22°18°Sep
- 24°21°Oct
- 26°22°Nov
- 27°24°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.
Canyon in Serra Geral National Park, Brazil
Fortaleza Canyon is a canyon in Brazil, cut by the Arroio Segredo river. The relief model measures 569 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 6.2 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Praia Grandenearest town · 15 km in a straight line
- Mirante do litoral e da cidade de Torresnearest viewpoint · 2.7 km from the floor
- Hugo Cantergiani Regional Airport (CXJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 121 km in a straight lineCar hire at CXJ airport (Caxias Do Sul)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May 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.
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.
- 18viewpoints within 5 kmMirante do Canyon Fortaleza, Mirante da Pedra do Segredo, Quebra-cangalha and 15 more
- 4named waterfalls within 4 kmCachoeira da Fortaleza - 2ª parte, Cachoeira da Fortaleza, Cachoeira do Tigre Preto and 1 more
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 4information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmParadouro Fortaleza Pousada e Camping
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- campsites within 8 km
- restaurants and cafés 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
- Praia Grande15 km in a straight line
- Mampituba17 km in a straight line
- Cambará do Sul18 km in a straight line
- Jacinto Machado20 km in a straight line
- São João do Sul23 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Fortaleza Canyon.
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.
Figures 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 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 27 |
| Afternoon · rim | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 24 |
| Night · rim | 16 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 |
| Rain (mm) | 158 | 145 | 132 | 104 | 125 | 118 | 142 | 123 | 164 | 162 | 131 | 136 |
| Rainy days | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 18 |
| Sun hours/day | 6.2 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 24 | 16 | 158 | 6.2 |
| Feb | 28 | 24 | 16 | 145 | 6.0 |
| Mar | 27 | 23 | 15 | 132 | 6.1 |
| Apr | 25 | 21 | 12 | 104 | 6.0 |
| May | 21 | 17 | 9 | 125 | 5.2 |
| Jun | 20 | 16 | 8 | 118 | 5.0 |
| Jul | 19 | 16 | 7 | 142 | 5.3 |
| Aug | 21 | 17 | 8 | 123 | 5.9 |
| Sep | 22 | 18 | 9 | 164 | 5.0 |
| Oct | 24 | 21 | 11 | 162 | 5.2 |
| Nov | 26 | 22 | 12 | 131 | 6.5 |
| Dec | 27 | 24 | 14 | 136 | 6.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (220 m) and the rim (792 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 | 99% | 47% | 18% | 33% | 55% | 120% | 180% | 61% | 78% | 40% | 81% | 94% |
| 2021 | 112% | 55% | 90% | 36% | 129% | 123% | 28% | 52% | 124% | 62% | 74% | 39% |
| 2022 | 79% | 37% | 123% | 110% | 193% | 198% | 62% | 109% | 52% | 76% | 54% | 115% |
| 2023 | 60% | 89% | 104% | 52% | 66% | 115% | 120% | 55% | 198% | 202% | 242% | 62% |
| 2024 | 108% | 50% | 56% | 173% | 301% | 207% | 64% | 55% | 56% | 67% | 61% | 81% |
| 2025 | 61% | 80% | 25% | 103% | 50% | 201% | 38% | 69% | 93% | 52% | 54% | 78% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5472506) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

