Canada Jonathan Rodgers · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
1,332 metres, to scale.
A slice through Hells Gate 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: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 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.
1,332m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
11.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
50°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
74m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
10 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 28 °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 October to April. The wettest months are from November to January.
- 5°-5°Jan
- 6°-4°Feb
- 9°-1°Mar
- 13°3°Apr
- 20°10°May
- 24°14°Jun
- 28°18°Jul
- 28°18°Aug
- 22°13°Sep
- 15°5°Oct
- 8°-2°Nov
- 4°-6°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.
Geographic Landmark in British Columbia, Canada
Hells Gate is a canyon in Canada, cut by the Busteed Creek. The relief model measures 1,332 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 11 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Parking 740 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.9 km from the floor
- Abbotsford International Airport (YXX)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 107 km in a straight lineCar hire at YXX airport (Abbotsford)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 Busteed Creek runs highest from April to June.
The Busteed Creek carries about 2,699 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest in September.
- 3,635 m³/sJan
- 3,223 m³/sFeb
- 3,357 m³/sMar
- 4,428 m³/sApr
- 5,555 m³/sMay
- 5,309 m³/sJun
- 3,775 m³/sJul
- 2,084 m³/sAug
- 948 m³/sSep
- 1,345 m³/sOct
- 2,719 m³/sNov
- 3,392 m³/sDec
From about 948 m³/s in the lowest month to 5,555 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 214,116 km².
Follow the Fraser River from source to mouth on Riveryas
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.
- 3viewpoints within 5 kmBlack Canyon Viewpoint
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmTikwalus Heritage Trail
- 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmScuzzy Falls, Gate Mountain Creek Falls
- 7car parks within 3 km
- 3information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmTuckkwiowhum Campground
- 1restaurants 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
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- hotels and guesthouses within 8 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Hells Gate.
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.
Peakyas1 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 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 22 | 15 | 8 | 4 |
| Afternoon · rim | -5 | -4 | -1 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 5 | -2 | -6 |
| Night · rim | -12 | -12 | -9 | -6 | -1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 2 | -3 | -8 | -13 |
| Rain (mm) | 97 | 58 | 85 | 56 | 57 | 56 | 34 | 32 | 54 | 85 | 114 | 94 |
| Rainy days | 18 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 18 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.6 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 10.8 | 9.6 | 7.2 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 48 | 54 | 53 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 20 | 34 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | -5 | -12 | 97 | 2.6 |
| Feb | 6 | -4 | -12 | 58 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 9 | -1 | -9 | 85 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 13 | 3 | -6 | 56 | 7.1 |
| May | 20 | 10 | -1 | 57 | 8.2 |
| Jun | 24 | 14 | 3 | 56 | 8.8 |
| Jul | 28 | 18 | 6 | 34 | 10.8 |
| Aug | 28 | 18 | 6 | 32 | 9.6 |
| Sep | 22 | 13 | 2 | 54 | 7.2 |
| Oct | 15 | 5 | -3 | 85 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 8 | -2 | -8 | 114 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 4 | -6 | -13 | 94 | 1.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (74 m) and the rim (1,580 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 | 159% | 139% | 67% | 63% | 143% | 172% | 127% | 70% | 102% | 118% | 115% | 118% |
| 2021 | 100% | 145% | 59% | 62% | 51% | 41% | 50% | 200% | 177% | 140% | 179% | 110% |
| 2022 | 84% | 66% | 60% | 85% | 105% | 157% | 111% | 105% | 19% | 56% | 72% | 108% |
| 2023 | 57% | 147% | 63% | 125% | 81% | 99% | 63% | 106% | 83% | 55% | 74% | 103% |
| 2024 | 118% | 127% | 73% | 137% | 96% | 146% | 69% | 255% | 77% | 102% | 80% | 111% |
| 2025 | 27% | 138% | 115% | 77% | 80% | 115% | 122% | 183% | 111% | 124% | 92% | 205% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Hells Gate
Canada
- 1,332 mDepth
- 11 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 50°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5709019) · 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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