Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
The cut
49 metres, to scale.
A slice through Balka Kunduli 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: a person · 1.8 m · a two-storey house · 9.0 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.
49m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
17.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
3°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
12km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 33 °C. The best months to hike are from April to May and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are in May.
- 1°0°Jan
- 3°2°Feb
- 9°9°Mar
- 17°16°Apr
- 24°24°May
- 29°29°Jun
- 33°32°Jul
- 32°32°Aug
- 25°25°Sep
- 17°16°Oct
- 8°8°Nov
- 2°2°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.
River in Russia
Balka Kunduli is a ravine in Russia. The relief model measures 49 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 12 km. Rim to rim it is 17 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Kevsalanearest town · 7.1 km in a straight line
- Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport (STW)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 84 km in a straight line
- From April to May and from September to Octoberbest 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
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.
- 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
- Kevsala7.1 km in a straight line
- Ipatovo25 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Balka Kunduli.
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.
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 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 24 | 29 | 33 | 32 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 2 |
| Afternoon · rim | 0 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 24 | 29 | 32 | 32 | 25 | 16 | 8 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -6 | -2 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 6 | 0 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 33 | 30 | 42 | 28 | 60 | 50 | 48 | 29 | 38 | 42 | 36 | 34 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.6 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 7.1 | 8.8 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 9.7 | 7.4 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 0 | -6 | 33 | 1.6 |
| Feb | 3 | 2 | -6 | 30 | 3.1 |
| Mar | 9 | 9 | -2 | 42 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 17 | 16 | 4 | 28 | 7.1 |
| May | 24 | 24 | 11 | 60 | 8.8 |
| Jun | 29 | 29 | 16 | 50 | 9.9 |
| Jul | 33 | 32 | 19 | 48 | 10.0 |
| Aug | 32 | 32 | 18 | 29 | 9.7 |
| Sep | 25 | 25 | 13 | 38 | 7.4 |
| Oct | 17 | 16 | 6 | 42 | 4.8 |
| Nov | 8 | 8 | 0 | 36 | 2.0 |
| Dec | 2 | 2 | -4 | 34 | 1.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (83 m) and the rim (136 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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 | 150% | 113% | 16% | 40% | 133% | 104% | 65% | 20% | 11% | 40% | 155% | 43% |
| 2021 | 105% | 184% | 132% | 327% | 130% | 168% | 101% | 241% | 182% | 32% | 119% | 87% |
| 2022 | 148% | 106% | 81% | 132% | 120% | 52% | 146% | 95% | 142% | 59% | 76% | 59% |
| 2023 | 24% | 296% | 121% | 165% | 147% | 211% | 266% | 37% | 38% | 77% | 264% | 172% |
| 2024 | 185% | 89% | 36% | 77% | 38% | 134% | 31% | 56% | 28% | 93% | 162% | 88% |
| 2025 | 69% | 82% | 72% | 246% | 125% | 90% | 23% | 112% | 145% | 184% | 30% | 112% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q4247185) · 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 |
| 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?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.



