France MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
897 metres, to scale.
A slice through Grands Goulets 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.
897m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
51°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
357m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 21 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are in November.
- 8°2°Jan
- 9°2°Feb
- 13°7°Mar
- 17°11°Apr
- 21°15°May
- 25°19°Jun
- 28°21°Jul
- 27°21°Aug
- 23°17°Sep
- 19°13°Oct
- 12°6°Nov
- 8°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.
Gorge in the western part of the Vercors Massif
Grands Goulets is a canyon in France, cut by the La Vernaison river. The relief model measures 897 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 4.3 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Saint-Laurent-en-Royansnearest town · 7.4 km in a straight line
- Parking 480 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Pas de l'Alliernearest viewpoint · 1.3 km from the floor
- Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport (GNB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 40 km in a straight lineCar hire at GNB airport (Grenoble)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and from September to 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 La Vernaison runs highest from November to May.
The La Vernaison carries about 3.0 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to May.
- 3.5 m³/sJan
- 3.2 m³/sFeb
- 3.6 m³/sMar
- 3.6 m³/sApr
- 4.0 m³/sMay
- 2.6 m³/sJun
- 1.2 m³/sJul
- 0.8 m³/sAug
- 1.4 m³/sSep
- 2.7 m³/sOct
- 3.8 m³/sNov
- 3.5 m³/sDec
From about 0.81 m³/s in the lowest month to 4.0 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 201 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
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 10 × 10 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 19viewpoints within 5 kmPas de l'Allier, Pas des Voûtes, Le Belvédère de Revoulat and 16 more
- 161marked hiking routes within 4 km
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmCombatier
- 2caves within 3 km
- 23car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 13campsites within 8 kmCamping Chez la Mère Michon, Camping Les Portes Saint-Martin, La Ferme du Clos and 10 more
- 40hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmFerme du Mandement, Hôtel du Musée, Hostel Quartier Libre and 37 more
- 3restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges 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
- Saint-Laurent-en-Royans7.4 km in a straight line
- Pont-en-Royans8.7 km in a straight line
- Saint-Jean-en-Royans9.9 km in a straight line
- Saint-Just-de-Claix13 km in a straight line
- Villard-de-Lans13 km in a straight line
- Saint-Romans14 km in a straight line
- Le Gua16 km in a straight line
- Saint-Hilaire-du-Rosier17 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Grands Goulets.
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
Peakyas33 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 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 8 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -7 | -4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 2 | -2 | -5 |
| Rain (mm) | 70 | 57 | 68 | 65 | 88 | 65 | 56 | 58 | 67 | 85 | 100 | 77 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.7 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 8.6 | 7.0 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 17 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 2 | -6 | 70 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 9 | 2 | -7 | 57 | 4.0 |
| Mar | 13 | 7 | -4 | 68 | 5.8 |
| Apr | 17 | 11 | 0 | 65 | 6.9 |
| May | 21 | 15 | 4 | 88 | 7.4 |
| Jun | 25 | 19 | 8 | 65 | 9.4 |
| Jul | 28 | 21 | 10 | 56 | 9.8 |
| Aug | 27 | 21 | 9 | 58 | 8.6 |
| Sep | 23 | 17 | 6 | 67 | 7.0 |
| Oct | 19 | 13 | 2 | 85 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 12 | 6 | -2 | 100 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 8 | 2 | -5 | 77 | 2.3 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (357 m) and the rim (1,291 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 | 52% | 90% | 97% | 68% | 90% | 151% | 28% | 119% | 117% | 142% | 35% | 163% |
| 2021 | 150% | 79% | 49% | 122% | 144% | 115% | 172% | 88% | 108% | 117% | 74% | 162% |
| 2022 | 37% | 71% | 30% | 85% | 36% | 101% | 19% | 79% | 160% | 53% | 145% | 154% |
| 2023 | 46% | 16% | 109% | 87% | 92% | 186% | 46% | 75% | 76% | 168% | 119% | 155% |
| 2024 | 108% | 104% | 199% | 104% | 157% | 159% | 104% | 48% | 193% | 141% | 44% | 104% |
| 2025 | 116% | 39% | 57% | 78% | 50% | 46% | 68% | 62% | 105% | 86% | 69% | 40% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Grands Goulets
France
- 897 mDepth
- 4.3 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 51°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q16508196) · 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?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
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lakes
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Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here