Germany Water gap
Illerdurchbruch bei Oberkottern
284 m of rock, cut by the Iller.
Hilarmont · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
284 metres, to scale.
A slice through Illerdurchbruch bei Oberkottern 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
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.
284m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
16.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
15°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0.1km
Length
Rim to floor
2 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 23 °C on the floor, against 21 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to September. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are from June to August.
- 3°1°Jan
- 4°2°Feb
- 8°6°Mar
- 14°11°Apr
- 18°15°May
- 22°19°Jun
- 23°21°Jul
- 23°21°Aug
- 19°16°Sep
- 15°12°Oct
- 9°6°Nov
- 4°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.
Transverse valley in Germany
Illerdurchbruch bei Oberkottern is a water gap in Germany, cut by the Iller river. The relief model measures 284 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 365 m to the higher one. It runs for 0.1 km. Rim to rim it is 17 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Durachnearest town · 2.1 km in a straight line
- Parking 370 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.1 km from the floor
- Memmingen Allgau Airport (FMM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 33 km in a straight lineCar hire at FMM airport (Memmingen)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May to 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 Iller runs highest from May to September.
The Iller carries about 27 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to September.
- 16 m³/sJan
- 16 m³/sFeb
- 28 m³/sMar
- 31 m³/sApr
- 42 m³/sMay
- 49 m³/sJun
- 47 m³/sJul
- 49 m³/sAug
- 36 m³/sSep
- 22 m³/sOct
- 12 m³/sNov
- 12 m³/sDec
From about 12 m³/s in the lowest month to 49 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 951 km².
Follow the Iller 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.
- 16viewpoints within 5 kmHohegg, Haldebuckel, Kohlenberg and 13 more
- 32marked hiking routes within 4 kmKempten: Rundweg Kempten-West, Kempten: Entlang der Iller, Auf Kneipps Spuren and 29 more
- 2climbing crags within 3 kmKletterturm Engelhaldepark
- 51footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 3swimming spots within 3 km
- 262car parks within 3 km
- 90information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 113bus stops within 2 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmMini Hof Sommer, Wohnmobilstellplatz Buchenberg, Insel Camping and 5 more
- 89hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLandhaus Sommerau, Gasthof zum Kapitel, Mäser´s Allgäuherz and 86 more
- 135restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- named waterfalls within 4 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
- Durach2.1 km in a straight line
- Waltenhofen2.9 km in a straight line
- Kempten (Allgäu)3.2 km in a straight line
- Sulzberg4.8 km in a straight line
- Buchenberg5.9 km in a straight line
- Betzigau6.3 km in a straight line
- Wiggensbach8.6 km in a straight line
- Neuburg8.6 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Illerdurchbruch bei Oberkottern.
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.
Peakyas49 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas4 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 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 4 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -7 | -6 | -3 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 4 | -1 | -5 |
| Rain (mm) | 92 | 71 | 87 | 85 | 148 | 170 | 166 | 180 | 118 | 92 | 76 | 85 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.3 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 26 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 20 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 1 | -7 | 92 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 4 | 2 | -6 | 71 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 8 | 6 | -3 | 87 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 14 | 11 | 2 | 85 | 6.0 |
| May | 18 | 15 | 6 | 148 | 6.1 |
| Jun | 22 | 19 | 10 | 170 | 7.0 |
| Jul | 23 | 21 | 12 | 166 | 7.3 |
| Aug | 23 | 21 | 12 | 180 | 6.8 |
| Sep | 19 | 16 | 8 | 118 | 5.5 |
| Oct | 15 | 12 | 4 | 92 | 4.6 |
| Nov | 9 | 6 | -1 | 76 | 3.0 |
| Dec | 4 | 2 | -5 | 85 | 2.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (662 m) and the rim (1,027 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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 | 48% | 208% | 83% | 67% | 64% | 149% | 91% | 123% | 113% | 131% | 33% | 90% |
| 2021 | 144% | 62% | 91% | 61% | 109% | 85% | 151% | 124% | 69% | 41% | 115% | 112% |
| 2022 | 55% | 145% | 14% | 96% | 92% | 100% | 76% | 75% | 126% | 113% | 97% | 86% |
| 2023 | 50% | 77% | 115% | 176% | 124% | 45% | 115% | 134% | 54% | 88% | 286% | 218% |
| 2024 | 104% | 85% | 116% | 123% | 140% | 145% | 119% | 88% | 168% | 110% | 72% | 90% |
| 2025 | 83% | 33% | 87% | 48% | 90% | 66% | 151% | 80% | 104% | 82% | 100% | 27% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Illerdurchbruch bei Oberkottern
Germany
- 284 mDepth
- 17 kmRim to rim
- 0.1 kmLength
- 15°Steepest wall
Schlucht am Mariaberg bei Thingers
Germany · 1 km
- 309 mDepth
- 16 kmRim to rim
- 0.6 kmLength
- 20°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q17575955) · 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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