United States Water gap

Wallula Gap

326 m of rock, cut by the Columbia River.

Williamborg · Public domain

The cut

326 metres, to scale.

A slice through Wallula Gap 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.

326m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

13.6km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

32°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

102m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

2 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 34 °C on the floor, against 31 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to January. The wettest months are in March and from November to January.

rim · 492 mfloor · 102 m

7°5°Jan
10°7°Feb
14°12°Mar
18°16°Apr
24°21°May
28°25°Jun
34°31°Jul
33°30°Aug
27°25°Sep
19°16°Oct
12°9°Nov
7°4°Dec

Hike: Apr–May, OctFrost on the rim: Dec–JanWettest: Mar, Nov–Jan

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.

Large water gap of the Columbia River through basalt anticlines in the U.S. state of Washington

Wallula Gap is a water gap in United States, cut by the Columbia River. The relief model measures 326 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 390 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 14 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Finleynearest town · 14 km in a straight line
Parking 530 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.4 km from the floor
Tri Cities Airport (PSC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 28 km in a straight lineCar hire at PSC airport (Pasco)Discover Cars · sponsored link
From April to May and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at PSC airport (Pasco)Discover CarsSee prices

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 Columbia River runs highest from January to April.

The Columbia River carries about 5,379 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to April. It is lowest from August to October.

9,932 m³/sJan
11,389 m³/sFeb
12,026 m³/sMar
11,065 m³/sApr
9,163 m³/sMay
6,864 m³/sJun
4,220 m³/sJul
2,619 m³/sAug
1,725 m³/sSep
2,546 m³/sOct
4,659 m³/sNov
7,139 m³/sDec

From about 1,725 m³/s in the lowest month to 12,026 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 535,620 km².

Follow the Columbia 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.

Wallula Gap seen from above (Sentinel-2)

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.

1viewpoints within 5 km
2climbing crags within 3 kmWallula Wall (Lower), Wallula Wall (Upper)
2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
4car parks within 3 km
2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km

marked hiking routes within 4 km
via ferrata routes within 4 km
footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
swimming spots within 3 km
named waterfalls within 4 km
caves within 3 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

Finley14 km in a straight line
Highland16 km in a straight line
Burbank18 km in a straight line
Kennewick24 km in a straight line
Pasco25 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Wallula Gap.

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.

Riveryas3 rivers in the canyon

Columbia River2,000 km · 7,500 m³/sMultnomah ChannelEagle Creek

Peakyas3 mountains within 15 km

Twin Sisters · 0.7 kmClover Hill · 3.7 kmThe Butte · 9.9 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon · floor	7	10	14	18	24	28	34	33	27	19	12	7
Afternoon · rim	5	7	12	16	21	25	31	30	25	16	9	4
Night · rim	-2	-2	1	4	8	12	16	16	12	6	1	-2
Rain (mm)	58	44	52	42	43	32	6	10	16	38	52	67
Rainy days	13	11	12	11	10	7	2	3	4	8	13	14
Sun hours/day	2.4	4.9	6.4	8.9	10.2	11.6	13.3	11.4	9.1	6.5	3.6	2.0
Snow on the ground (cm)	13	9	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	13

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	7	5	-2	58	2.4
Feb	10	7	-2	44	4.9
Mar	14	12	1	52	6.4
Apr	18	16	4	42	8.9
May	24	21	8	43	10.2
Jun	28	25	12	32	11.6
Jul	34	31	16	6	13.3
Aug	33	30	16	10	11.4
Sep	27	25	12	16	9.1
Oct	19	16	6	38	6.5
Nov	12	9	1	52	3.6
Dec	7	4	-2	67	2.0

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (102 m) and the rim (492 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Wallula-Gap--Looking-South — Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0

Wallula-Gap-Looking-North-from-midgap — Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0

Wallula-Gap-the-sisters — Williamborg 05:37, 1 October 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0

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	139%	205%	65%	41%	201%	121%	19%	31%	60%	104%	137%	78%
2021	76%	170%	36%	18%	32%	31%	110%	91%	195%	103%	141%	121%
2022	89%	64%	73%	171%	205%	244%	155%	154%	62%	123%	149%	102%
2023	56%	65%	101%	129%	43%	58%	26%	231%	136%	102%	101%	113%
2024	141%	110%	70%	52%	138%	86%	50%	79%	96%	65%	167%	131%
2025	73%	185%	132%	56%	76%	12%	105%	144%	91%	97%	112%	140%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Wallula Gap

United States

326 mDepth
14 kmRim to rim
—Length
32°Steepest wall

Frenchman Coulee

United States · 133 km

370 mDepth
16 kmRim to rim
—Length
15°Steepest wall

See the guide

Hells Canyon

United States · 194 km

1,690 mDepth
12 kmRim to rim
—Length
46°Steepest wall

See the guide

Columbia River Gorge

United States · 223 km

890 mDepth
15 kmRim to rim
—Length
50°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q3565546) · 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