Spain Robot8A · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
974 metres, to scale.
A slice through Pas d'Escales 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.
974m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
20.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
38°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
668m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 22 °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 May.
- 9°2°Jan
- 9°2°Feb
- 13°6°Mar
- 16°10°Apr
- 20°14°May
- 26°19°Jun
- 28°22°Jul
- 28°21°Aug
- 24°17°Sep
- 19°12°Oct
- 12°6°Nov
- 9°3°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.
Pas d'Escales is a canyon in Spain, cut by the Noguera Ribagorçana river. The relief model measures 974 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 20 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Sopeiranearest town · 0.8 km in a straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.0 km from the floor
- Pirineus - la Seu d'Urgel Airport (LEU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 55 km in a straight lineCar hire at LDE airport (Tarbes/Lourdes/Pyrénées)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 Noguera Ribagorçana runs highest from March to May.
The Noguera Ribagorçana carries about 9.1 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to May.
- 11 m³/sJan
- 10 m³/sFeb
- 13 m³/sMar
- 15 m³/sApr
- 16 m³/sMay
- 10 m³/sJun
- 4.6 m³/sJul
- 2.5 m³/sAug
- 3.9 m³/sSep
- 6.9 m³/sOct
- 8.9 m³/sNov
- 7.4 m³/sDec
From about 2.5 m³/s in the lowest month to 16 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 728 km².
The Noguera Ribagorzana 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.
- 2viewpoints within 5 km
- 4marked hiking routes within 4 kmBetesa - Santorens - Pallerol - Betesa, Colls de Sant Roc. Adons, GR 3 Sender Central de Catalunya - Etapa 10 and 1 more
- 1caves within 3 km
- 5car parks within 3 km
- 1bus stops within 2 km
- 2hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHostal-Restaurante Escarlá, Ca del Roi
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 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
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- campsites within 8 km
- restaurants and cafés 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
- Sopeira0.8 km in a straight line
- Areny de Noguera / Arén7.4 km in a straight line
- el Pont de Suert9.5 km in a straight line
- Bonansa13 km in a straight line
- Beranuy13 km in a straight line
- Senterada16 km in a straight line
- Castigaleu19 km in a straight line
- Laspaúles20 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Pas d'Escales.
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.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas95 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 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 19 | 12 | 9 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 3 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -6 | -3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 3 | -2 | -5 |
| Rain (mm) | 60 | 48 | 58 | 72 | 76 | 51 | 42 | 42 | 50 | 61 | 70 | 50 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 9.5 | 10.3 | 9.4 | 8.0 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 2 | -6 | 60 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 9 | 2 | -6 | 48 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 13 | 6 | -3 | 58 | 6.4 |
| Apr | 16 | 10 | 0 | 72 | 6.8 |
| May | 20 | 14 | 3 | 76 | 7.8 |
| Jun | 26 | 19 | 8 | 51 | 9.5 |
| Jul | 28 | 22 | 10 | 42 | 10.3 |
| Aug | 28 | 21 | 10 | 42 | 9.4 |
| Sep | 24 | 17 | 6 | 50 | 8.0 |
| Oct | 19 | 12 | 3 | 61 | 6.1 |
| Nov | 12 | 6 | -2 | 70 | 4.8 |
| Dec | 9 | 3 | -5 | 50 | 4.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (668 m) and the rim (1,676 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 | 119% | 36% | 146% | 150% | 115% | 181% | 96% | 84% | 138% | 178% | 80% | 212% |
| 2021 | 116% | 71% | 23% | 71% | 54% | 133% | 78% | 50% | 132% | 70% | 96% | 88% |
| 2022 | 32% | 34% | 107% | 86% | 44% | 80% | 88% | 112% | 118% | 83% | 85% | 90% |
| 2023 | 92% | 60% | 31% | 36% | 85% | 210% | 66% | 73% | 67% | 83% | 90% | 76% |
| 2024 | 52% | 128% | 159% | 80% | 92% | 138% | 91% | 80% | 212% | 168% | 32% | 42% |
| 2025 | 53% | 34% | 211% | 87% | 57% | 55% | 89% | 139% | 125% | 36% | 83% | 72% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Pas d'Escales
Spain
- 974 mDepth
- 20 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 38°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q24004110) · 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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