France Canyon
Gorges de la Spelunca
1,030 m of rock, cut by the Rivière de Porto.
Pierre Bona · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
1,030 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de la Spelunca 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.
1,030m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
6.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
43°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
109m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
7 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The wettest months are from October to December.
- 12°5°Jan
- 12°5°Feb
- 14°7°Mar
- 17°10°Apr
- 21°14°May
- 26°19°Jun
- 29°22°Jul
- 29°22°Aug
- 25°18°Sep
- 21°14°Oct
- 16°9°Nov
- 13°6°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 Spelunca is a canyon in France, cut by the Rivière de Porto. The relief model measures 1,030 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 6.4 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Cargèsenearest town · 19 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,170 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.5 km from the floor
- Calvi Sainte Catherine Airport (CLY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 31 km in a straight lineCar hire at AJA airport (Ajaccio)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 Rivière de Porto runs highest from November to January.
The Rivière de Porto carries about 2.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to January. It is lowest from June to September.
- 2.9 m³/sJan
- 2.6 m³/sFeb
- 2.5 m³/sMar
- 2.0 m³/sApr
- 1.5 m³/sMay
- 0.9 m³/sJun
- 0.5 m³/sJul
- 0.4 m³/sAug
- 0.9 m³/sSep
- 2.2 m³/sOct
- 3.7 m³/sNov
- 3.5 m³/sDec
From about 0.41 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.7 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 109 km².
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
4 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.
- 10viewpoints within 5 kmTable d'orientation, Belvédère de Fornaciole and 8 more
- 6marked hiking routes within 4 kmMare à Mare Nord Variante, Mare è Monti Nord Principal, Mare à Mare Nord Principal and 3 more
- 10climbing crags within 3 kmTes yeux noírs, La Lonca, Tes yeux noírs, upper part and 7 more
- 3footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPonte Vecciu, Pont gênois de Zaglia, Passerelle de Lonca
- 7car parks within 3 km
- 6information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7campsites within 8 kmMini-camping Gite di a Rota, Csa del Torrente, Acciola and 4 more
- 38hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGite d'Etape L'alivi, Le Vaïta, Le Subrini and 35 more
- 14restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- 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
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 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
- Cargèse19 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de la Spelunca.
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.
Peakyas39 mountains within 15 km
Coastya4 beaches 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 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 13 |
| Afternoon · rim | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 6 |
| Night · rim | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 55 | 57 | 45 | 45 | 22 | 10 | 15 | 45 | 78 | 93 | 65 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.8 | 5.2 | 6.7 | 8.5 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 12.3 | 10.9 | 8.5 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 3.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | 5 | 1 | 54 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 12 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 14 | 7 | 3 | 57 | 6.7 |
| Apr | 17 | 10 | 5 | 45 | 8.5 |
| May | 21 | 14 | 9 | 45 | 9.8 |
| Jun | 26 | 19 | 13 | 22 | 11.7 |
| Jul | 29 | 22 | 16 | 10 | 12.3 |
| Aug | 29 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 10.9 |
| Sep | 25 | 18 | 13 | 45 | 8.5 |
| Oct | 21 | 14 | 10 | 78 | 6.3 |
| Nov | 16 | 9 | 6 | 93 | 4.2 |
| Dec | 13 | 6 | 2 | 65 | 3.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (109 m) and the rim (1,188 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 | 38% | 4% | 86% | 145% | 92% | 170% | 28% | 153% | 103% | 150% | 43% | 149% |
| 2021 | 116% | 40% | 23% | 84% | 103% | 24% | 82% | 16% | 27% | 46% | 144% | 61% |
| 2022 | 27% | 12% | 62% | 96% | 45% | 20% | 22% | 151% | 61% | 12% | 92% | 98% |
| 2023 | 65% | 48% | 29% | 48% | 111% | 104% | 60% | 237% | 40% | 45% | 68% | 43% |
| 2024 | 65% | 124% | 78% | 56% | 188% | 93% | 54% | 74% | 118% | 141% | 25% | 81% |
| 2025 | 33% | 26% | 123% | 109% | 29% | 9% | 247% | 102% | 31% | 28% | 33% | 119% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de la Spelunca
France
- 1,030 mDepth
- 6.4 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 43°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1567808) · 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?
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Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
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Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
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Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here