France Jcb-caz-11 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
667 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de la Frau 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.
667m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
8.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
24°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
605m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 24 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from December to March.
- 8°3°Jan
- 9°4°Feb
- 12°8°Mar
- 16°12°Apr
- 20°15°May
- 25°21°Jun
- 28°24°Jul
- 28°24°Aug
- 24°19°Sep
- 19°15°Oct
- 12°8°Nov
- 9°4°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 la Frau is a canyon in France, cut by the Le Grand Hers river. The relief model measures 667 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 8.0 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Villeneuve-d'Olmesnearest town · 9.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 120 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.3 km from the floor
- Carcassonne Salvaza Airport (CCF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 56 km in a straight lineCar hire at CCF airport (Carcassonne)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.
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
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 18 × 18 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 15viewpoints within 5 kmRoc du Caroulet, Roc du Tals, Pic des Rives and 12 more
- 5marked hiking routes within 4 kmDes Vosges aux Pyrénées, variante, SC 09 : Espezel - Comus, SC 10 : Comus - Montségur and 2 more
- 1climbing crags within 3 km
- 6footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmGorges de la Frau-Sentier Cathare and 5 more
- 6caves within 3 km
- 5car parks within 3 km
- 7information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7campsites within 8 kmLa Fount de Sicre, Camping les Sapins, Les Chalets du Lac and 4 more
- 21hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLe Château de Camurac, Gite Lou Sicret, Gite Le Silence du Midi and 18 more
- 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
- bus stops within 2 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
- Villeneuve-d'Olmes9.2 km in a straight line
- Bélesta9.9 km in a straight line
- Lavelanet11 km in a straight line
- Ax-les-Thermes12 km in a straight line
- Laroque-d'Olmes16 km in a straight line
- Saint-Paul-de-Jarrat19 km in a straight line
- Mercus-Garrabet20 km in a straight line
- Chalabre20 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de la Frau.
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.
Peakyas7 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 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 19 | 12 | 9 |
| Afternoon · rim | 3 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 4 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -5 | -2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 3 | -1 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 76 | 60 | 64 | 76 | 82 | 56 | 47 | 50 | 53 | 68 | 84 | 67 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.8 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 11 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 3 | -5 | 76 | 2.8 |
| Feb | 9 | 4 | -5 | 60 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 12 | 8 | -2 | 64 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 16 | 12 | 0 | 76 | 6.8 |
| May | 20 | 15 | 4 | 82 | 7.3 |
| Jun | 25 | 21 | 8 | 56 | 8.7 |
| Jul | 28 | 24 | 10 | 47 | 9.0 |
| Aug | 28 | 24 | 10 | 50 | 8.4 |
| Sep | 24 | 19 | 6 | 53 | 7.4 |
| Oct | 19 | 15 | 3 | 68 | 5.4 |
| Nov | 12 | 8 | -1 | 84 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 9 | 4 | -4 | 67 | 3.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (605 m) and the rim (1,289 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 | 89% | 55% | 141% | 143% | 119% | 177% | 83% | 118% | 174% | 201% | 68% | 205% |
| 2021 | 99% | 77% | 29% | 43% | 61% | 139% | 89% | 50% | 155% | 58% | 127% | 123% |
| 2022 | 54% | 34% | 93% | 79% | 37% | 77% | 68% | 86% | 143% | 22% | 115% | 49% |
| 2023 | 96% | 36% | 55% | 61% | 98% | 196% | 86% | 99% | 75% | 90% | 123% | 95% |
| 2024 | 53% | 120% | 124% | 70% | 95% | 104% | 67% | 72% | 160% | 175% | 43% | 76% |
| 2025 | 37% | 17% | 124% | 49% | 44% | 31% | 90% | 93% | 76% | 17% | 47% | 57% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de la Frau
France
- 667 mDepth
- 8.0 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 24°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q55597094) · 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
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