Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
The cut
408 metres, to scale.
A slice through Giscome 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: 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.
408m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
13.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
21°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
598m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 18 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to August. The rim freezes at night from October to April. The wettest months are from October to November.
- -5°-8°Jan
- -4°-7°Feb
- 0°-3°Mar
- 6°2°Apr
- 15°12°May
- 19°16°Jun
- 22°18°Jul
- 22°18°Aug
- 16°13°Sep
- 7°4°Oct
- -1°-4°Nov
- -5°-9°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.
Valley in British Columbia, Canada
Giscome Canyon is a canyon in Canada, cut by the Fraser River. The relief model measures 408 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 509 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 13 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Prince George (International) Airport (YXS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 45 km in a straight lineCar hire at YXS airport (Prince George)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Augustbest 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 Fraser River runs highest from May to June.
The Fraser River carries about 584 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest in February.
- 351 m³/sJan
- 81 m³/sFeb
- 458 m³/sMar
- 1,206 m³/sApr
- 1,699 m³/sMay
- 1,414 m³/sJun
- 854 m³/sJul
- 438 m³/sAug
- 453 m³/sSep
- 553 m³/sOct
- 733 m³/sNov
- 491 m³/sDec
From about 81 m³/s in the lowest month to 1,699 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 24,270 km².
Follow the Fraser River from source to mouth on Riveryas
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.
- 1campsites within 8 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- car parks within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- hotels and guesthouses 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Giscome 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 | -5 | -4 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 7 | -1 | -5 |
| Afternoon · rim | -8 | -7 | -3 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 4 | -4 | -9 |
| Night · rim | -15 | -15 | -11 | -6 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 2 | -3 | -10 | -16 |
| Rain (mm) | 91 | 57 | 72 | 51 | 60 | 77 | 80 | 62 | 74 | 102 | 112 | 83 |
| Rainy days | 17 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 16 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.6 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 8.2 | 5.8 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 68 | 84 | 80 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 25 | 48 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -5 | -8 | -15 | 91 | 1.6 |
| Feb | -4 | -7 | -15 | 57 | 4.1 |
| Mar | 0 | -3 | -11 | 72 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 6 | 2 | -6 | 51 | 7.7 |
| May | 15 | 12 | 1 | 60 | 8.8 |
| Jun | 19 | 16 | 6 | 77 | 9.1 |
| Jul | 22 | 18 | 8 | 80 | 8.9 |
| Aug | 22 | 18 | 7 | 62 | 8.2 |
| Sep | 16 | 13 | 2 | 74 | 5.8 |
| Oct | 7 | 4 | -3 | 102 | 3.4 |
| Nov | -1 | -4 | -10 | 112 | 1.3 |
| Dec | -5 | -9 | -16 | 83 | 1.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (598 m) and the rim (1,107 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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% | 112% | 113% | 58% | 100% | 133% | 180% | 212% | 102% | 115% | 111% | 114% |
| 2021 | 88% | 123% | 129% | 92% | 134% | 57% | 64% | 91% | 163% | 76% | 125% | 64% |
| 2022 | 121% | 156% | 68% | 87% | 134% | 104% | 60% | 74% | 46% | 53% | 57% | 76% |
| 2023 | 71% | 219% | 29% | 125% | 86% | 75% | 78% | 42% | 46% | 38% | 81% | 92% |
| 2024 | 75% | 61% | 45% | 81% | 59% | 100% | 99% | 68% | 178% | 114% | 132% | 132% |
| 2025 | 76% | 77% | 57% | 85% | 101% | 84% | 128% | 101% | 94% | 109% | 75% | 220% |
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 (Q5564889) · 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
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.



