Iceland Gummao · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
121 metres, to scale.
A slice through Ásbyrgi 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
121m
Depth
the relief model measures 216 m
24.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
16°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
17m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 13 °C. The best months to hike are from July to August. The rim freezes at night from November to April.
- 0°-1°Jan
- 0°-1°Feb
- 1°0°Mar
- 3°1°Apr
- 6°4°May
- 12°10°Jun
- 13°12°Jul
- 12°11°Aug
- 9°8°Sep
- 4°3°Oct
- 1°0°Nov
- 0°-1°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.
Valley in Iceland
Ásbyrgi is a canyon in Iceland. The relief model measures 216 m from the floor to the lower rim. The published depth is 121 m. Rim to rim it is 24 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Vatnajökull National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there.
- Parking 1,090 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.0 km from the floor
- Akureyri International Airport (AEY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 82 km in a straight lineCar hire at AEY airport (Akureyri)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 the river runs highest from May to July.
The the river carries about 201 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to July, fed by melting snow.
- 101 m³/sJan
- 31 m³/sFeb
- 40 m³/sMar
- 199 m³/sApr
- 522 m³/sMay
- 577 m³/sJun
- 432 m³/sJul
- 216 m³/sAug
- 195 m³/sSep
- 248 m³/sOct
- 263 m³/sNov
- 200 m³/sDec
From about 31 m³/s in the lowest month to 577 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 7,171 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
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.
- 10viewpoints within 5 kmUtsynisstaður, Ásbyrgi, Klappir and 7 more
- 4marked hiking routes within 4 kmFelseninsel Eyjan, Gestagata and 2 more
- 8car parks within 3 km
- 10information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmÁsbyrgi, Tjaldsvæði Lundi
- 3hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmDettifoss Guesthouse, Bjarnastaðir Guesthouse, Nordic Natura
- 2restaurants and cafés 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
- bus stops within 2 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 Ásbyrgi.
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.
Peakyas3 mountains within 15 kmFigures 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 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Afternoon · rim | -1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | -1 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -6 | -6 | -4 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | -1 | -4 | -6 |
| Rain (mm) | 105 | 85 | 99 | 83 | 86 | 69 | 93 | 100 | 127 | 131 | 127 | 122 |
| Rainy days | 20 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 20 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 72 | 86 | 96 | 81 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 30 | 51 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | -1 | -6 | 105 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 0 | -1 | -6 | 85 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 1 | 0 | -6 | 99 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 3 | 1 | -4 | 83 | 4.6 |
| May | 6 | 4 | 0 | 86 | 6.0 |
| Jun | 12 | 10 | 4 | 69 | 7.8 |
| Jul | 13 | 12 | 6 | 93 | 5.6 |
| Aug | 12 | 11 | 6 | 100 | 4.6 |
| Sep | 9 | 8 | 3 | 127 | 3.0 |
| Oct | 4 | 3 | -1 | 131 | 1.0 |
| Nov | 1 | 0 | -4 | 127 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 0 | -1 | -6 | 122 | 0.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (17 m) and the rim (234 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 | 122% | 155% | 106% | 84% | 54% | 68% | 149% | 52% | 147% | 111% | 111% | 166% |
| 2021 | 142% | 89% | 119% | 64% | 50% | 121% | 56% | 38% | 124% | 185% | 96% | 43% |
| 2022 | 66% | 127% | 59% | 86% | 141% | 197% | 166% | 184% | 63% | 186% | 105% | 60% |
| 2023 | 116% | 94% | 89% | 55% | 88% | 84% | 129% | 40% | 121% | 117% | 46% | 57% |
| 2024 | 54% | 97% | 132% | 91% | 45% | 234% | 85% | 204% | 91% | 85% | 61% | 48% |
| 2025 | 105% | 71% | 77% | 108% | 69% | 297% | 71% | 73% | 90% | 50% | 46% | 57% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Ásbyrgi
Iceland
- 121 mDepth
- 24 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 16°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q252506) · 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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