Norway Glivi · Public domain
The cut
350 metres, to scale.
A slice through Sautso 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.
350m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
2.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
47°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
63m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 16 °C on the floor, against 14 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from July to August. The rim freezes at night from October to April. The wettest months are from June to August.
- -6°-8°Jan
- -5°-8°Feb
- -2°-5°Mar
- 2°-1°Apr
- 6°3°May
- 12°9°Jun
- 16°14°Jul
- 14°12°Aug
- 10°7°Sep
- 3°0°Oct
- -2°-4°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.
Canyon in Alta, Norway
Sautso is a canyon in Norway, cut by the Altaelva river. The relief model measures 350 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 435 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 2.7 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Alta Canyonnearest viewpoint · 1.3 km from the floor
- Alta Airport (ALF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 28 km in a straight lineCar hire at ALF airport (Alta)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From July to Augustbest 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 Altaelva runs highest from May to July.
The Altaelva carries about 80 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to July, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from December to April.
- 33 m³/sJan
- 23 m³/sFeb
- 24 m³/sMar
- 45 m³/sApr
- 156 m³/sMay
- 201 m³/sJun
- 191 m³/sJul
- 126 m³/sAug
- 90 m³/sSep
- 71 m³/sOct
- 57 m³/sNov
- 44 m³/sDec
From about 23 m³/s in the lowest month to 201 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 7,825 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
1.5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 2viewpoints within 5 kmAlta Canyon
- 3named waterfalls within 4 kmGabo, Suovvagorsa, Sunná Biergorsa
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1campsites within 8 km4 Jotka
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- 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
- caves within 3 km
- car parks within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- hotels and guesthouses 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Sautso.
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.
Cascadyas3 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas141 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas34 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 | -6 | -5 | -2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 3 | -2 | -4 |
| Afternoon · rim | -8 | -8 | -5 | -1 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 0 | -4 | -6 |
| Night · rim | -14 | -14 | -11 | -7 | -2 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 2 | -4 | -9 | -12 |
| Rain (mm) | 56 | 54 | 65 | 56 | 80 | 107 | 112 | 100 | 78 | 77 | 62 | 67 |
| Rainy days | 16 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 15 | 18 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 5.3 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | — |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 57 | 71 | 84 | 81 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 26 | 42 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -6 | -8 | -14 | 56 | 0.1 |
| Feb | -5 | -8 | -14 | 54 | 0.4 |
| Mar | -2 | -5 | -11 | 65 | 2.4 |
| Apr | 2 | -1 | -7 | 56 | 5.3 |
| May | 6 | 3 | -2 | 80 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 12 | 9 | 4 | 107 | 6.9 |
| Jul | 16 | 14 | 8 | 112 | 6.2 |
| Aug | 14 | 12 | 6 | 100 | 4.6 |
| Sep | 10 | 7 | 2 | 78 | 3.2 |
| Oct | 3 | 0 | -4 | 77 | 1.1 |
| Nov | -2 | -4 | -9 | 62 | 0.1 |
| Dec | -4 | -6 | -12 | 67 | — |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (63 m) and the rim (498 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 | 177% | 129% | 158% | 121% | 98% | 46% | 137% | 106% | 103% | 89% | 108% | 51% |
| 2021 | 72% | 115% | 135% | 147% | 70% | 132% | 114% | 74% | 134% | 107% | 106% | 80% |
| 2022 | 168% | 84% | 105% | 157% | 119% | 85% | 145% | 131% | 97% | 111% | 53% | 60% |
| 2023 | 119% | 136% | 128% | 96% | 131% | 52% | 73% | 93% | 190% | 101% | 81% | 53% |
| 2024 | 137% | 90% | 85% | 101% | 107% | 141% | 79% | 72% | 89% | 115% | 178% | 136% |
| 2025 | 133% | 104% | 136% | 231% | 56% | 81% | 105% | 152% | 86% | 116% | 145% | 134% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3137553) · 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?
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