France Canyon

Clue de Barles

745 m of rock, cut by the Bès.

Pmau · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

745 metres, to scale.

A slice through Clue de Barles 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 · Empire State · 443 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.

745m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

6.1km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

36°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

791m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

5 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 24 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to June and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are from October to November.

rim · 1,542 mfloor · 791 m

6°1°Jan
8°3°Feb
12°7°Mar
15°10°Apr
20°15°May
25°20°Jun
29°24°Jul
29°24°Aug
23°18°Sep
18°13°Oct
11°6°Nov
7°2°Dec

Hike: May–Jun, Sep–OctFrost on the rim: Nov–MarWettest: Oct–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.

Clue de Barles is a canyon in France, cut by the Bès river. The relief model measures 745 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 6.1 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Le Brusquetnearest town · 9.2 km in a straight line
Parking 240 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 100 km in a straight lineCar hire at NCE airport (Nice, Alpes-Maritimes)Discover Cars · sponsored link
From May to June and from September to Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at CEQ airport (Cannes)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 Bès runs highest from November to December.

The Bès carries about 2.4 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to December. It is lowest from July to August.

2.4 m³/sJan
2.1 m³/sFeb
2.5 m³/sMar
2.5 m³/sApr
2.5 m³/sMay
1.7 m³/sJun
0.8 m³/sJul
0.6 m³/sAug
1.1 m³/sSep
2.5 m³/sOct
3.9 m³/sNov
3.2 m³/sDec

From about 0.58 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.9 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 188 km².

The Bès from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon

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.

Clue de Barles seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 3 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

9viewpoints within 5 kmRocher Gassendi, Panorama du Vélodrome d'Esclangon and 7 more
9marked hiking routes within 4 kmLe Serre d'Esclangon, Panorama du Vélodrome, Col des Cloches and 6 more
1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmEmpreintes Fossilisées de Pattes d'Oiseaux
10car parks within 3 km
3information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
4campsites within 8 kmLes Pinées (fermé), Aire Camping-car d’Auzet, Camping Municipal de La Javie and 1 more
6hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAuberge Roman, Gite du Château, Gite du Serre and 3 more

via ferrata routes within 4 km
climbing crags 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
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

Le Brusquet9.2 km in a straight line
Seyne-les-Alpes15 km in a straight line
Digne-les-Bains16 km in a straight line
Mallemoisson23 km in a straight line
Volonne24 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Clue de Barles.

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.

Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon

Bès39 km

Peakyas26 mountains within 15 km

La Cloche de Barles1,718 m · 4.4 kmBlayeul2,189 m · 5.1 kmLes Plaines1,922 m · 8.3 kmLes Monges2,115 m · 8.5 kmClapouse1,791 m · 8.7 kmClot de Bouc1,720 m · 11 kmSommet de Cucuyon1,880 m · 13 kmL'Isoard1,783 m · 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon · floor	6	8	12	15	20	25	29	29	23	18	11	7
Afternoon · rim	1	3	7	10	15	20	24	24	18	13	6	2
Night · rim	-7	-7	-4	-1	3	8	10	10	6	2	-3	-6
Rain (mm)	49	45	52	56	66	44	25	31	53	84	102	68
Rainy days	8	6	7	9	10	7	6	6	8	9	10	8
Sun hours/day	5.0	5.7	6.4	6.9	7.6	9.7	10.8	9.7	8.1	6.0	4.4	4.5
Snow on the ground (cm)	13	12	8	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	12

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	6	1	-7	49	5.0
Feb	8	3	-7	45	5.7
Mar	12	7	-4	52	6.4
Apr	15	10	-1	56	6.9
May	20	15	3	66	7.6
Jun	25	20	8	44	9.7
Jul	29	24	10	25	10.8
Aug	29	24	10	31	9.7
Sep	23	18	6	53	8.1
Oct	18	13	2	84	6.0
Nov	11	6	-3	102	4.4
Dec	7	2	-6	68	4.5

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (791 m) and the rim (1,542 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Barles Clue de Barles 01 — Zairon · CC BY 4.0

Barles Clue de Barles 02 — Zairon · CC BY 4.0

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	64%	38%	119%	75%	151%	215%	46%	95%	80%	96%	32%	100%
2021	139%	81%	14%	169%	100%	87%	102%	58%	87%	64%	41%	84%
2022	8%	54%	30%	66%	40%	64%	48%	185%	116%	21%	60%	163%
2023	45%	29%	26%	46%	103%	160%	29%	89%	100%	96%	44%	81%
2024	81%	194%	269%	56%	104%	128%	32%	37%	187%	204%	41%	14%
2025	85%	26%	81%	56%	35%	36%	39%	65%	61%	31%	25%	28%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Clue de Barles

France

745 mDepth
6.1 kmRim to rim
—Length
36°Steepest wall

Verdon Gorge

France · 53 km

654 mDepth
6.7 kmRim to rim
25 kmLength
42°Steepest wall

See the guide

Basses Gorges du Verdon

France · 60 km

188 mDepth
2.0 kmRim to rim
7.7 kmLength
28°Steepest wall

See the guide

Gorges de Baudinard

France · 56 km

182 mDepth
6.8 kmRim to rim
3.2 kmLength
16°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q2980377) · 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