France JGS25 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
227 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de Malvaux 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
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.
227m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
32°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
664m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from December to February.
- 3°1°Jan
- 4°2°Feb
- 9°7°Mar
- 14°12°Apr
- 17°15°May
- 22°20°Jun
- 24°22°Jul
- 24°22°Aug
- 19°18°Sep
- 15°13°Oct
- 8°6°Nov
- 4°2°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 Malvaux is a canyon in France, cut by the Saine river. The relief model measures 227 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 279 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 3.8 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvauxnearest town · 9.0 km in a straight line
- Parking 460 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.4 km from the floor
- Geneva International Airport (GVA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 46 km in a straight lineCar hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Septemberbest 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
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 21viewpoints within 5 kmCascade du Bief de la Ruine, Belvedère du Rachet, Source de la Saine and 18 more
- 18marked hiking routes within 4 kmLa Cernée des Chardons - Pont de la Chaux, Bourg-de-Sirod - Entre Côtes du Milieu, Tour du Plateau de Nozeroy and 15 more
- 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 5named waterfalls within 4 kmLe Saut de la Pisse, Cascade des Orpailleurs, Cascade du Bief de la Ruine and 2 more
- 1caves within 3 km
- 10car parks within 3 km
- 11information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 5bus stops within 2 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmLe Temps de Vivre, Aire Camping-Cars Chapelle-des-Bois, Camping du Chalet du Bugnon and 5 more
- 40hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLes Cabanes du Bugnon, Hôtel Restaurant des Lacs, Chambres d'Hôtes and 37 more
- 3restaurants 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
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-Laurent-en-Grandvaux9.0 km in a straight line
- Morbier12 km in a straight line
- Morez13 km in a straight line
- Champagnole14 km in a straight line
- Bois-d'Amont15 km in a straight line
- Le Chenit16 km in a straight line
- Les Rousses18 km in a straight line
- Longchaumois22 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de Malvaux.
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.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas11 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas3 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 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 4 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -5 | -1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 0 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 96 | 75 | 92 | 82 | 117 | 107 | 101 | 107 | 80 | 103 | 100 | 108 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.3 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 1 | -5 | 96 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 4 | 2 | -5 | 75 | 4.4 |
| Mar | 9 | 7 | -1 | 92 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 14 | 12 | 3 | 82 | 6.3 |
| May | 17 | 15 | 7 | 117 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 22 | 20 | 11 | 107 | 8.5 |
| Jul | 24 | 22 | 13 | 101 | 8.9 |
| Aug | 24 | 22 | 12 | 107 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 19 | 18 | 8 | 80 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 15 | 13 | 5 | 103 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 8 | 6 | 0 | 100 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 4 | 2 | -4 | 108 | 2.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (664 m) and the rim (942 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 | 56% | 175% | 92% | 50% | 93% | 142% | 37% | 99% | 104% | 203% | 25% | 89% |
| 2021 | 116% | 62% | 57% | 47% | 132% | 121% | 171% | 61% | 82% | 77% | 57% | 157% |
| 2022 | 50% | 116% | 24% | 120% | 43% | 99% | 32% | 67% | 221% | 88% | 127% | 124% |
| 2023 | 91% | 12% | 145% | 127% | 61% | 59% | 80% | 82% | 77% | 164% | 260% | 162% |
| 2024 | 122% | 102% | 103% | 115% | 146% | 117% | 90% | 92% | 256% | 146% | 69% | 110% |
| 2025 | 155% | 52% | 50% | 104% | 81% | 101% | 109% | 100% | 201% | 151% | 147% | 29% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de Malvaux
France
- 227 mDepth
- 3.8 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 32°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q111541563) · 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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