Mongolia Bohndorf Film-Team · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
225 metres, to scale.
A slice through Yolyn Am 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.
225m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
21°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
2,095m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C. The best months to hike are from May to June and from August to September. The rim freezes at night from October to April.
- -12°-14°Jan
- -7°-9°Feb
- 1°-1°Mar
- 10°8°Apr
- 17°15°May
- 23°21°Jun
- 26°24°Jul
- 24°22°Aug
- 17°15°Sep
- 7°5°Oct
- -3°-5°Nov
- -11°-13°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.
Ravine in Mongolia
Yolyn Am is a canyon in Mongolia. The relief model measures 225 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 290 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 3.3 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Tsoohornearest town · 21 km in a straight line
- Parking 260 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.6 km from the floor
- Dalanzadgad Airport (DLZ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 26 km in a straight line
- From May to June and from August 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.
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
1.8 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 7.0 × 7.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 8viewpoints within 5 kmOvoo, Ёлын ам and 6 more
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmМухар Шивэрт, Yol
- 3car parks within 3 km
- 6campsites within 8 kmyolin museum, Мухар шивэрт, Dungenee Camp and 3 more
- 4hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmYoliin Ger camp, Mongolian ger camp, Erdenebileg ba Oyuna egch ger camp and 1 more
- 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
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 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
- Tsoohor21 km in a straight line
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 | -12 | -7 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 17 | 7 | -3 | -11 |
| Afternoon · rim | -14 | -9 | -1 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 15 | 5 | -5 | -13 |
| Night · rim | -25 | -22 | -14 | -6 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 1 | -8 | -15 | -23 |
| Rain (mm) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 31 | 23 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Rainy days | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sun hours/day | 6.3 | 7.8 | 9.5 | 10.7 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.0 | 6.9 | 5.9 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 17 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 16 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -12 | -14 | -25 | 2 | 6.3 |
| Feb | -7 | -9 | -22 | 2 | 7.8 |
| Mar | 1 | -1 | -14 | 4 | 9.5 |
| Apr | 10 | 8 | -6 | 4 | 10.7 |
| May | 17 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 11.3 |
| Jun | 23 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 10.4 |
| Jul | 26 | 24 | 10 | 31 | 9.6 |
| Aug | 24 | 22 | 8 | 23 | 9.5 |
| Sep | 17 | 15 | 1 | 15 | 9.5 |
| Oct | 7 | 5 | -8 | 6 | 9.0 |
| Nov | -3 | -5 | -15 | 3 | 6.9 |
| Dec | -11 | -13 | -23 | 3 | 5.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (2,095 m) and the rim (2,386 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 | — | — | — | — | 120% | 10% | 50% | 128% | 124% | 11% | — | — |
| 2021 | — | — | — | — | 23% | 50% | 496% | 68% | 112% | 29% | — | — |
| 2022 | — | — | — | — | 37% | 44% | 58% | 49% | 32% | 77% | — | — |
| 2023 | — | — | — | — | 55% | 27% | 115% | 61% | 60% | 0% | — | — |
| 2024 | — | — | — | — | 30% | 34% | 235% | 544% | 608% | 39% | — | — |
| 2025 | — | — | — | — | 270% | 119% | 82% | 273% | 26% | 161% | — | — |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q8054822) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| 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 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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