France Jack ma · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
1,286 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de Carançà 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.
1,286m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
35°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
710m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
9 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 20 °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 April and in October.
- 9°0°Jan
- 9°0°Feb
- 13°4°Mar
- 17°7°Apr
- 21°11°May
- 26°17°Jun
- 29°20°Jul
- 29°19°Aug
- 24°14°Sep
- 19°10°Oct
- 13°3°Nov
- 9°0°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.
Gorges de Carançà is a canyon in France, cut by the La Têt river. The relief model measures 1,286 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Vernet-les-Bainsnearest town · 14 km in a straight line
- Parking 410 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.8 km from the floor
- Perpignan-Rivesaltes (Llabanère) Airport (PGF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 58 km in a straight lineCar hire at PGF airport (Perpignan/Rivesaltes)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 La Têt runs highest from March to May and in November.
The La Têt carries about 1.8 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to May and in November. It is lowest in August.
- 2.0 m³/sJan
- 1.9 m³/sFeb
- 2.5 m³/sMar
- 2.9 m³/sApr
- 2.5 m³/sMay
- 1.4 m³/sJun
- 0.7 m³/sJul
- 0.6 m³/sAug
- 0.9 m³/sSep
- 2.0 m³/sOct
- 2.4 m³/sNov
- 1.7 m³/sDec
From about 0.56 m³/s in the lowest month to 2.9 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 127 km².
Follow the Têt 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.
- 3viewpoints within 5 km
- 2marked hiking routes within 4 kmChemin Vauban, Les Balcons de la Têt
- 19footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 13car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3bus stops within 2 km
- 7campsites within 8 kmAire de bivouac, Al Baus, Aire camping-car Thuès-Entre-Valls and 4 more
- 18hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGîtes Béthanie, Gîte la Cavale, Chambre d'hôtes Le Malaza and 15 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags 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
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
- Vernet-les-Bains14 km in a straight line
- Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via15 km in a straight line
- Ria-Sirach18 km in a straight line
- Prades20 km in a straight line
- Llívia21 km in a straight line
- Osséja23 km in a straight line
- Ribes de Freser24 km in a straight line
- Prats de Molló25 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de Carançà.
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.
Peakyas141 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 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 13 | 9 |
| Afternoon · rim | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| Night · rim | -9 | -10 | -7 | -4 | -1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | -1 | -6 | -8 |
| Rain (mm) | 53 | 43 | 55 | 66 | 59 | 37 | 34 | 38 | 44 | 72 | 61 | 42 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.5 | 5.6 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 9.1 | 9.6 | 8.8 | 7.4 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 10 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 0 | -9 | 53 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 9 | 0 | -10 | 43 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 13 | 4 | -7 | 55 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 17 | 7 | -4 | 66 | 6.7 |
| May | 21 | 11 | -1 | 59 | 7.5 |
| Jun | 26 | 17 | 4 | 37 | 9.1 |
| Jul | 29 | 20 | 6 | 34 | 9.6 |
| Aug | 29 | 19 | 6 | 38 | 8.8 |
| Sep | 24 | 14 | 2 | 44 | 7.4 |
| Oct | 19 | 10 | -1 | 72 | 5.9 |
| Nov | 13 | 3 | -6 | 61 | 4.8 |
| Dec | 9 | 0 | -8 | 42 | 4.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (710 m) and the rim (2,123 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 | 205% | 22% | 131% | 211% | 145% | 263% | 174% | 177% | 173% | 120% | 165% | 147% |
| 2021 | 82% | 119% | 35% | 76% | 86% | 171% | 69% | 60% | 141% | 46% | 164% | 99% |
| 2022 | 41% | 25% | 160% | 79% | 46% | 52% | 89% | 107% | 134% | 31% | 74% | 69% |
| 2023 | 62% | 65% | 33% | 37% | 86% | 248% | 96% | 112% | 74% | 64% | 59% | 54% |
| 2024 | 41% | 78% | 173% | 143% | 137% | 206% | 94% | 84% | 167% | 187% | 44% | 78% |
| 2025 | 36% | 53% | 327% | 72% | 104% | 43% | 244% | 127% | 166% | 17% | 67% | 245% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de Carançà
France
- 1,286 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 35°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q17605756) · 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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