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The cut
241 metres, to scale.
A slice through Drekagil 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.
241m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
10.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
18°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
681m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
2 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 5 °C on the floor, against 2 °C on the rim. The rim freezes at night from September to May.
- -4°-6°Jan
- -4°-6°Feb
- -3°-6°Mar
- -1°-3°Apr
- 1°-1°May
- 4°1°Jun
- 5°2°Jul
- 4°2°Aug
- 3°1°Sep
- 0°-2°Oct
- -2°-5°Nov
- -4°-6°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.
Canyon in Iceland
Drekagil is a canyon in Iceland. The relief model measures 241 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 386 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 10 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Vatnajökull National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there.
- Parking 2,900 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Akureyri International Airport (AEY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 97 km in a straight lineCar hire at AEY airport (Akureyri)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
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 June.
The the river carries about 3.1 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from December to March.
- 1.2 m³/sJan
- 0.7 m³/sFeb
- 1.4 m³/sMar
- 4.6 m³/sApr
- 10 m³/sMay
- 9.1 m³/sJun
- 6.1 m³/sJul
- 4.1 m³/sAug
- 3.4 m³/sSep
- 3.7 m³/sOct
- 3.0 m³/sNov
- 2.1 m³/sDec
From about 0.71 m³/s in the lowest month to 10 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 121 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), 22 × 22 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmAskja hiking trails
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmDrekafoss
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmDrekaskáli Warden Cabin, Drekaskáli
- 4hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmDrekaskáli, Dreki and 2 more
- viewpoints within 5 km
- 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
- 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Drekagil.
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.
Peakyas6 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures 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 | -4 | -4 | -3 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | -2 | -4 |
| Afternoon · rim | -6 | -6 | -6 | -3 | -1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -2 | -5 | -6 |
| Night · rim | -11 | -11 | -11 | -9 | -5 | -2 | 0 | -1 | -3 | -6 | -10 | -11 |
| Rain (mm) | 71 | 60 | 65 | 58 | 62 | 52 | 76 | 74 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 84 |
| Rainy days | 16 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.7 | 2.2 | 5.7 | 9.6 | 10.9 | 11.3 | 7.8 | 6.3 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 71 | 86 | 94 | 79 | 34 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 35 | 53 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -4 | -6 | -11 | 71 | 0.7 |
| Feb | -4 | -6 | -11 | 60 | 2.2 |
| Mar | -3 | -6 | -11 | 65 | 5.7 |
| Apr | -1 | -3 | -9 | 58 | 9.6 |
| May | 1 | -1 | -5 | 62 | 10.9 |
| Jun | 4 | 1 | -2 | 52 | 11.3 |
| Jul | 5 | 2 | 0 | 76 | 7.8 |
| Aug | 4 | 2 | -1 | 74 | 6.3 |
| Sep | 3 | 1 | -3 | 85 | 4.4 |
| Oct | 0 | -2 | -6 | 86 | 2.9 |
| Nov | -2 | -5 | -10 | 87 | 1.2 |
| Dec | -4 | -6 | -11 | 84 | 0.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (681 m) and the rim (1,067 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 | 109% | 139% | 95% | 100% | 40% | 61% | 92% | 60% | 119% | 109% | 101% | 176% |
| 2021 | 154% | 71% | 134% | 59% | 57% | 127% | 51% | 45% | 134% | 203% | 121% | 58% |
| 2022 | 64% | 130% | 53% | 82% | 155% | 193% | 106% | 138% | 84% | 141% | 115% | 102% |
| 2023 | 112% | 55% | 120% | 51% | 60% | 71% | 120% | 55% | 117% | 113% | 80% | 61% |
| 2024 | 51% | 93% | 138% | 125% | 46% | 193% | 90% | 185% | 77% | 100% | 67% | 51% |
| 2025 | 140% | 65% | 61% | 111% | 55% | 267% | 60% | 58% | 122% | 68% | 52% | 65% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Drekagil
Iceland
- 241 mDepth
- 10 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 18°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1258311) · 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
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Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
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