France Fabricio Cardenas · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
796 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges del Montdony 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
796m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
19.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
34°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
174m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 33 °C on the floor, against 27 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The rim freezes at night from January to February. The wettest months are in April and in October.
- 12°6°Jan
- 13°7°Feb
- 17°11°Mar
- 20°14°Apr
- 24°18°May
- 30°24°Jun
- 33°27°Jul
- 32°26°Aug
- 27°21°Sep
- 23°17°Oct
- 16°10°Nov
- 13°7°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 del Montdony is a canyon in France, cut by the Mondony river. The relief model measures 796 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 918 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 19 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- els Banys d'Arlesnearest town · 0.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 550 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.8 km from the floor
- Perpignan-Rivesaltes (Llabanère) Airport (PGF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 35 km in a straight lineCar hire at PGF airport (Perpignan/Rivesaltes)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to 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 Mondony runs highest from March to May and in November.
The Mondony carries about 5.3 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to May and in November. It is lowest in August.
- 6.0 m³/sJan
- 5.8 m³/sFeb
- 7.4 m³/sMar
- 8.6 m³/sApr
- 7.4 m³/sMay
- 4.2 m³/sJun
- 2.4 m³/sJul
- 2.0 m³/sAug
- 2.9 m³/sSep
- 6.1 m³/sOct
- 7.1 m³/sNov
- 5.2 m³/sDec
From about 2.0 m³/s in the lowest month to 8.6 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 384 km².
The Tech 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
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.
- 12viewpoints within 5 kmCol de Paracolls and 11 more
- 5marked hiking routes within 4 kmHRP Étape 38, HRP Étape 39, HRP Variante 38.1 and 2 more
- 10via ferrata routes within 4 kmVia Ferrata Roc de la Campana and 9 more
- 18footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmAncienne Voie Ferrée d'Arles à Elne, Accès aux Passerelles des Gorges du Mondony and 16 more
- 5named waterfalls within 4 kmCascade d'Annibal, Salt de l'Aigua, Salt del Pi and 2 more
- 50car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 33bus stops within 2 km
- 17campsites within 8 kmLa Solane, Camping de la Fargassa, Bivouac possible and 14 more
- 46hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmFerienwohnung, Hôtel le Mas Trilles, L'Hostalet de Vivès and 43 more
- 8restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 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
- els Banys d'Arles0.7 km in a straight line
- Arles3.0 km in a straight line
- Reynès3.3 km in a straight line
- Ceret6.8 km in a straight line
- Sant Llorenç de Cerdans10 km in a straight line
- St. Jean-Pla-de-Corts11 km in a straight line
- Maureillas-las-Illas12 km in a straight line
- Le Boulou15 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges del Montdony.
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
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas153 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 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 30 | 33 | 32 | 27 | 23 | 16 | 13 |
| Afternoon · rim | 6 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 21 | 17 | 10 | 7 |
| Night · rim | -2 | -3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 1 | -2 |
| 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 | 12 | 6 | -2 | 53 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 13 | 7 | -3 | 43 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 17 | 11 | 0 | 55 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 20 | 14 | 2 | 66 | 6.7 |
| May | 24 | 18 | 6 | 59 | 7.5 |
| Jun | 30 | 24 | 11 | 37 | 9.1 |
| Jul | 33 | 27 | 13 | 34 | 9.6 |
| Aug | 32 | 26 | 12 | 38 | 8.8 |
| Sep | 27 | 21 | 9 | 44 | 7.4 |
| Oct | 23 | 17 | 6 | 72 | 5.9 |
| Nov | 16 | 10 | 1 | 61 | 4.8 |
| Dec | 13 | 7 | -2 | 42 | 4.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (174 m) and the rim (1,092 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 del Montdony
France
- 796 mDepth
- 19 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 34°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q31074128) · 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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