France Slot canyon
Gorges du Pont du Diable
693 m of rock, cut by the Dranse de Morzine.
Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
693 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges du Pont du Diable 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. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.
693m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
6.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
33°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
531m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 25 °C on the floor, against 19 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in September. The rim freezes at night from November to March.
- 4°-1°Jan
- 5°0°Feb
- 10°4°Mar
- 15°9°Apr
- 19°13°May
- 23°17°Jun
- 25°19°Jul
- 25°19°Aug
- 21°15°Sep
- 16°11°Oct
- 10°4°Nov
- 6°0°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 du Pont du Diable is a slot canyon in France, cut by the Dranse de Morzine river. The relief model measures 693 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 907 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 6.6 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Féternesnearest town · 7.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 50 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Belvédère de Reyvroznearest viewpoint · 2.0 km from the floor
- Geneva International Airport (GVA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 40 km in a straight lineCar hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- 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 Dranse de Morzine runs highest in January and from March to August.
The Dranse de Morzine carries about 6.0 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in January and from March to August.
- 7.3 m³/sJan
- 5.9 m³/sFeb
- 8.6 m³/sMar
- 7.3 m³/sApr
- 9.8 m³/sMay
- 8.4 m³/sJun
- 6.7 m³/sJul
- 6.4 m³/sAug
- 4.0 m³/sSep
- 4.2 m³/sOct
- 3.9 m³/sNov
- 5.9 m³/sDec
From about 3.9 m³/s in the lowest month to 9.8 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 203 km².
The Dranse 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
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.
- 9viewpoints within 5 kmPanorama de Champeillant, Belvédère de Tréchauffé, Pas du Diable and 6 more
- 10marked hiking routes within 4 kmGR 5 Variante La Plantaz, Sentier de découverte, Entre lac et alpages and 7 more
- 4climbing crags within 3 kmPas de l'Ours, La Touvière, L'Arblay and 1 more
- 6footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 5caves within 3 km
- 33car parks within 3 km
- 43information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4bus stops within 2 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmCamping Municipal Vinzier, Camping municipal de la Baume, Camping La Prairie and 1 more
- 56hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHôtel de la Poste, Hôtel de l'Union, Les Moineaux and 53 more
- 3restaurants 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
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
- Féternes7.5 km in a straight line
- Larringes7.7 km in a straight line
- Lyaud7.8 km in a straight line
- Saint-Paul-en-Chablais8.1 km in a straight line
- Bellevaux8.3 km in a straight line
- Saint-Jean-d'Aulps8.6 km in a straight line
- Abondance8.7 km in a straight line
- Armoy9.0 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges du Pont du Diable.
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.
Riveryas3 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas37 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 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | -1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| Night · rim | -8 | -8 | -4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 2 | -3 | -7 |
| Rain (mm) | 92 | 72 | 90 | 81 | 126 | 114 | 115 | 120 | 81 | 94 | 90 | 101 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 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) | 19 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 17 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | -1 | -8 | 92 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 5 | 0 | -8 | 72 | 4.4 |
| Mar | 10 | 4 | -4 | 90 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 15 | 9 | 0 | 81 | 6.3 |
| May | 19 | 13 | 4 | 126 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 23 | 17 | 8 | 114 | 8.5 |
| Jul | 25 | 19 | 10 | 115 | 8.9 |
| Aug | 25 | 19 | 9 | 120 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 21 | 15 | 5 | 81 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 16 | 11 | 2 | 94 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 10 | 4 | -3 | 90 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 6 | 0 | -7 | 101 | 2.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (531 m) and the rim (1,438 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 | 50% | 172% | 90% | 59% | 77% | 150% | 52% | 109% | 110% | 184% | 26% | 70% |
| 2021 | 124% | 56% | 62% | 50% | 115% | 125% | 156% | 55% | 81% | 56% | 55% | 142% |
| 2022 | 46% | 118% | 23% | 109% | 52% | 88% | 44% | 57% | 203% | 88% | 109% | 114% |
| 2023 | 77% | 15% | 148% | 130% | 74% | 58% | 87% | 88% | 67% | 135% | 270% | 176% |
| 2024 | 111% | 84% | 121% | 107% | 138% | 132% | 91% | 102% | 250% | 135% | 80% | 112% |
| 2025 | 134% | 45% | 48% | 107% | 82% | 84% | 107% | 103% | 190% | 135% | 125% | 23% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges du Pont du Diable
France
- 693 mDepth
- 6.6 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 33°Steepest wall
Gorges du Dailley
Switzerland · 39 km
- 1,855 mDepth
- 6.4 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 46°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2908933) · 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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