France Hesed · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
815 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges du Guiers Vif 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.
815m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
17.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
46°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
404m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
8 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 18 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from November to April.
- 6°-2°Jan
- 7°-1°Feb
- 12°4°Mar
- 16°8°Apr
- 20°12°May
- 24°16°Jun
- 26°18°Jul
- 26°18°Aug
- 22°14°Sep
- 17°10°Oct
- 11°3°Nov
- 6°-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.
Canyon in Isère, France
Gorges du Guiers Vif is a canyon in France, cut by the Le Guiers Vif river. The relief model measures 815 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,199 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 17 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Entre-Deux-Guiersnearest town · 4.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 420 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.1 km from the floor
- Chambéry Aix les Bains airport (CMF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 24 km in a straight lineCar hire at GNB airport (Grenoble)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in 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.
The river
The Le Guiers Vif runs highest from October to June.
The Le Guiers Vif carries about 2.0 m³/s on average here.
- 2.9 m³/sJan
- 2.5 m³/sFeb
- 3.0 m³/sMar
- 2.6 m³/sApr
- 3.0 m³/sMay
- 1.9 m³/sJun
- 0.9 m³/sJul
- 0.7 m³/sAug
- 0.9 m³/sSep
- 2.0 m³/sOct
- 2.9 m³/sNov
- 2.8 m³/sDec
From about 0.69 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.0 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 112 km².
The Ainan 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.
- 21viewpoints within 5 kmPoint de vue, Belvédère de Gerbaix, Belvédère de l'Écolu and 18 more
- 63marked hiking routes within 4 kmChemin d'Assise, Cluny - Montcenis, Traversée de la Chartreuse, Tour de Chartreuse and 60 more
- 13via ferrata routes within 4 kmVia Ferrata de la Roche Veyrand, Via Ferrata de la Roche Veyrand: Passerelle du Pas Loquace, Via Ferrata de la Roche Veyrand: Passerelle du Pas de la Frousse and 10 more
- 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPasserelle des Loisirs, Pont Romain and 2 more
- 10caves within 3 km
- 24car parks within 3 km
- 30information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 8bus stops within 2 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmAire de Stationnement camping-car du télésiège de la Combe de l'Ours, Camping du Bois de la Teppe, Camping L'Arc-en-Ciel and 5 more
- 33hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCleyat, Chambres d'hôtes de Montbel, Gîte d'étape La Michelinne and 30 more
- 10restaurants and cafés 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
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
- Entre-Deux-Guiers4.7 km in a straight line
- Les Échelles5.2 km in a straight line
- Saint-Laurent-du-Pont7.2 km in a straight line
- Miribel-les-Échelles8.1 km in a straight line
- Saint-Joseph-de-Rivière11 km in a straight line
- Saint-Béron11 km in a straight line
- Saint-Aupre12 km in a straight line
- La Bridoire12 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges du Guiers Vif.
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.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas38 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 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 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | -2 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 3 | -2 |
| Night · rim | -9 | -9 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 | -5 | -8 |
| Rain (mm) | 79 | 62 | 74 | 69 | 97 | 77 | 72 | 76 | 70 | 89 | 97 | 86 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.6 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 8.7 | 7.0 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 14 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | -2 | -9 | 79 | 2.6 |
| Feb | 7 | -1 | -9 | 62 | 4.0 |
| Mar | 12 | 4 | -6 | 74 | 5.8 |
| Apr | 16 | 8 | -2 | 69 | 6.9 |
| May | 20 | 12 | 2 | 97 | 7.4 |
| Jun | 24 | 16 | 6 | 77 | 9.4 |
| Jul | 26 | 18 | 8 | 72 | 9.8 |
| Aug | 26 | 18 | 7 | 76 | 8.7 |
| Sep | 22 | 14 | 3 | 70 | 7.0 |
| Oct | 17 | 10 | 0 | 89 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 11 | 3 | -5 | 97 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 6 | -2 | -8 | 86 | 2.3 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (404 m) and the rim (1,603 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 | 55% | 128% | 93% | 66% | 105% | 155% | 30% | 118% | 98% | 175% | 29% | 137% |
| 2021 | 168% | 75% | 70% | 85% | 153% | 103% | 197% | 77% | 111% | 92% | 74% | 204% |
| 2022 | 44% | 102% | 28% | 103% | 38% | 112% | 18% | 73% | 172% | 67% | 121% | 147% |
| 2023 | 70% | 8% | 167% | 111% | 74% | 116% | 46% | 87% | 94% | 162% | 184% | 198% |
| 2024 | 126% | 93% | 138% | 115% | 151% | 149% | 109% | 47% | 234% | 153% | 49% | 121% |
| 2025 | 150% | 45% | 64% | 111% | 74% | 79% | 100% | 78% | 171% | 138% | 113% | 40% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges du Guiers Vif
France
- 815 mDepth
- 17 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 46°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3111013) · 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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