France Sergio09200 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
713 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de la Ribaute 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.
713m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
8.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
33°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
425m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 30 °C on the floor, against 23 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are in May.
- 9°3°Jan
- 10°4°Feb
- 14°8°Mar
- 17°11°Apr
- 21°15°May
- 26°20°Jun
- 30°23°Jul
- 29°23°Aug
- 25°19°Sep
- 21°15°Oct
- 14°8°Nov
- 10°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 Ribaute is a canyon in France, cut by the Salat river. The relief model measures 713 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 937 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 8.8 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Saint-Gironsnearest town · 8.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 400 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.9 km from the floor
- Pirineus - la Seu d'Urgel Airport (LEU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 67 km in a straight lineCar hire at TLS airport (Toulouse/Blagnac)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in 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 Salat runs highest from January to May and in November.
The Salat carries about 6.5 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to May and in November.
- 12 m³/sJan
- 10 m³/sFeb
- 12 m³/sMar
- 13 m³/sApr
- 13 m³/sMay
- 7.8 m³/sJun
- 3.3 m³/sJul
- 1.6 m³/sAug
- 2.5 m³/sSep
- 5.4 m³/sOct
- 10.0 m³/sNov
- 9.1 m³/sDec
From about 1.6 m³/s in the lowest month to 13 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 578 km².
The Salat 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
5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 20 × 20 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 3viewpoints within 5 kmCol d'Ayens
- 4marked hiking routes within 4 kmGrand tour Sourroque and 3 more
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 3caves within 3 km
- 17car parks within 3 km
- 20information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 6campsites within 8 kmCamping Parc de Paletes, Camping Le Pont Du Nert, Camping Le Haut Salat and 3 more
- 18hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHôtel de la Poste, Gite d'Aunac, Gîte Hount Juliane and 15 more
- 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
- 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
- Saint-Girons8.5 km in a straight line
- Montjoie-en-Couserans9.9 km in a straight line
- Saint-Lizier10 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de la Ribaute.
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.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas3 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 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 21 | 14 | 10 |
| Afternoon · rim | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 4 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -6 | -3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 3 | -2 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 86 | 64 | 72 | 83 | 95 | 64 | 54 | 53 | 56 | 70 | 90 | 69 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 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) | 12 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 3 | -5 | 86 | 2.8 |
| Feb | 10 | 4 | -6 | 64 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 14 | 8 | -3 | 72 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 17 | 11 | 0 | 83 | 6.8 |
| May | 21 | 15 | 3 | 95 | 7.3 |
| Jun | 26 | 20 | 8 | 64 | 8.7 |
| Jul | 30 | 23 | 10 | 54 | 9.0 |
| Aug | 29 | 23 | 9 | 53 | 8.4 |
| Sep | 25 | 19 | 6 | 56 | 7.4 |
| Oct | 21 | 15 | 3 | 70 | 5.4 |
| Nov | 14 | 8 | -2 | 90 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 10 | 4 | -4 | 69 | 3.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (425 m) and the rim (1,362 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% | 50% | 125% | 126% | 107% | 147% | 71% | 114% | 168% | 183% | 65% | 210% |
| 2021 | 91% | 87% | 26% | 41% | 52% | 133% | 75% | 49% | 137% | 62% | 147% | 140% |
| 2022 | 55% | 35% | 94% | 84% | 28% | 59% | 74% | 82% | 134% | 18% | 130% | 49% |
| 2023 | 101% | 37% | 53% | 59% | 80% | 167% | 80% | 98% | 85% | 83% | 122% | 98% |
| 2024 | 52% | 116% | 117% | 73% | 94% | 93% | 63% | 73% | 165% | 203% | 48% | 86% |
| 2025 | 35% | 17% | 116% | 47% | 42% | 25% | 95% | 86% | 77% | 15% | 45% | 67% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de la Ribaute
France
- 713 mDepth
- 8.8 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 33°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q55597095) · 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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