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VizhDarvan01

Iran Iran Canyon

Vizhdarvan Canyon

425 m of rock, cut by the Kanjan Cham River.

See the cutWhen to go

MohadShojaee · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

425 metres, to scale.

A slice through Vizhdarvan Canyon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

1,214 m1,052 m425 m7.1 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 1.31,214 m1,052 m425 m7.1 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 2.7

Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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.

425m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

7.1km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

34°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

628m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

4 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 42 °C on the floor, against 38 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in March and in November. The floor passes 35 °C from June to September: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are from January to April and in November.

rim · 1,214 mfloor · 628 m
  1. 13°9°Jan
  2. 15°11°Feb
  3. 20°16°Mar
  4. 26°22°Apr
  5. 32°29°May
  6. 39°35°Jun
  7. 42°38°Jul
  8. 42°38°Aug
  9. 37°34°Sep
  10. 30°26°Oct
  11. 20°16°Nov
  12. 15°11°Dec
Hike: Mar, NovFloor above 35 °C: Jun–SepWettest: Jan–Apr, Nov

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 Iran

Vizhdarvan Canyon is a canyon in Iran, cut by the Kanjan Cham River. The relief model measures 425 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 587 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 7.1 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

  • Mehrnearest town · 10 km in a straight line
  • Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani Airport (KSH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 123 km in a straight line
  • In March and in Novemberbest 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 Kanjan Cham River runs highest from January to March.

The Kanjan Cham River carries about 4.5 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to March. It is lowest from June to October.

  1. 8.7 m³/sJan
  2. 11 m³/sFeb
  3. 11 m³/sMar
  4. 7.7 m³/sApr
  5. 3.2 m³/sMay
  6. 1.0 m³/sJun
  7. 0.3 m³/sJul
  8. 0.3 m³/sAug
  9. 0.3 m³/sSep
  10. 1.2 m³/sOct
  11. 5.4 m³/sNov
  12. 6.9 m³/sDec

From about 0.30 m³/s in the lowest month to 11 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 523 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.

Vizhdarvan Canyon seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 4 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 16 × 16 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

    • viewpoints within 5 km
    • 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
    • named waterfalls within 4 km
    • caves within 3 km
    • car parks within 3 km
    • information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
    • bus stops within 2 km
    • campsites within 8 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).

    Towns nearby

    • Mehr10 km in a straight line
    • Sarţāf14 km in a straight line
    • Şāleḩābād16 km in a straight line
    • Haft Cheshmeh19 km in a straight line
    • Īlām21 km in a straight line
    • Delgoshā23 km in a straight line
    • Arkavaz24 km in a straight line

    In our other atlases

    What else is around Vizhdarvan Canyon.

    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.

    Peakyas21 mountains within 15 km
    Kūh-e Bahārak · 5.0 kmKūh-e Gach · 6.5 kmKūh-e Anjīr · 7.8 kmKūh-e Pāskār · 9.9 kmKūh-e Gūtīn · 10 kmKūh-e Shāh Nakhjīr · 11 kmKūh-e Kāveh Qīlān · 11 kmKūh-e Maleh Sāyeh · 14 km

    Figures 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.

    JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
    Afternoon · floor131520263239424237302015
    Afternoon · rim91116222935383834261611
    Night · rim-203814192222181350
    Rain (mm)65606050150212285649
    Rainy days877730000367
    Sun hours/day5.76.88.49.011.013.612.712.111.28.67.05.9
    Snow on the ground (cm)851000000013
    Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
    Jan139-2655.7
    Feb15110606.8
    Mar20163608.4
    Apr26228509.0
    May3229141511.0
    Jun393519013.6
    Jul423822212.7
    Aug423822112.1
    Sep373418211.2
    Oct302613288.6
    Nov20165567.0
    Dec15110495.9

    Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (628 m) and the rim (1,214 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.

    JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
    202099%226%168%52%19%————2%206%70%
    202152%126%45%4%15%————34%37%59%
    202273%74%18%84%66%————2%64%142%
    2023181%34%182%182%160%————28%203%87%
    202448%149%168%96%861%————1%130%98%
    202524%110%147%66%70%————0%44%290%

    130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

    Compare with the neighbours.

    Vizhdarvan Canyon

    Iran

    • 425 mDepth
    • 7.1 kmRim to rim
    • —Length
    • 34°Steepest wall

    Zarangush Canyon

    Iran · 85 km

    • 349 mDepth
    • 15 kmRim to rim
    • —Length
    • 36°Steepest wall

    See the guide

    Bahram Chobin Canyon

    Iran · 110 km

    • 926 mDepth
    • 20 kmRim to rim
    • —Length
    • 42°Steepest wall

    See the guide

    Shirz Canyon

    Iran · 114 km

    • 810 mDepth
    • 6.1 kmRim to rim
    • —Length
    • 46°Steepest wall

    See the guide

    Where these figures come from

    Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q26908433) · CC0
    The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
    River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
    ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
    Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
    ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
    Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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.

    beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
    lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
    mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
    waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
    islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
    canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here