United Kingdom 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
153 metres, to scale.
A slice through Dura Den 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.
153m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
16°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
4m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 18 °C. The best months to hike are from June to September. The wettest months are in August and in October.
- 6°5°Jan
- 6°5°Feb
- 8°7°Mar
- 11°10°Apr
- 14°13°May
- 17°16°Jun
- 18°17°Jul
- 18°17°Aug
- 16°15°Sep
- 12°11°Oct
- 8°8°Nov
- 6°5°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.
Gorge in Fife, Scotland, UK
Dura Den is a gorge in United Kingdom, cut by the Kinninmonth Burn river. The relief model measures 153 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 3.5 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Cuparnearest town · 4.3 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,510 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.8 km from the floor
- Dundee Airport (DND)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 16 km in a straight lineCar hire at EDI airport (Ingliston, Edinburgh)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June 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.
The river
The Kinninmonth Burn runs highest in August and from October to March.
The Kinninmonth Burn carries about 4.7 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in August and from October to March.
- 5.5 m³/sJan
- 4.1 m³/sFeb
- 4.1 m³/sMar
- 3.2 m³/sApr
- 2.3 m³/sMay
- 2.5 m³/sJun
- 3.2 m³/sJul
- 4.8 m³/sAug
- 3.0 m³/sSep
- 5.8 m³/sOct
- 6.8 m³/sNov
- 5.7 m³/sDec
From about 2.3 m³/s in the lowest month to 6.8 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 250 km².
The River Eden 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.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 2viewpoints within 5 km
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmFife Pilgrim Way
- 7footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBishop's Bridge and 6 more
- 6car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmKnockhill, Ring Farm Camping, Cairnsmill Caravan Park and 5 more
- 156hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmRufflets Country House, The Rings, Redbryers B&B and 153 more
- 4restaurants and cafés within 4 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 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
- Cupar4.3 km in a straight line
- Balmullo7.3 km in a straight line
- Leuchars8.7 km in a straight line
- Saint Andrews9.4 km in a straight line
- Lundin Links11 km in a straight line
- Ladybank12 km in a straight line
- Leven13 km in a straight line
- Kennoway13 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Dura Den.
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
Peakyas5 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 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 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| Night · rim | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 87 | 68 | 68 | 58 | 68 | 87 | 98 | 111 | 68 | 109 | 95 | 81 |
| Rainy days | 17 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.0 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 10 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 87 | 1.0 |
| Feb | 6 | 5 | 1 | 68 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 8 | 7 | 1 | 68 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 11 | 10 | 3 | 58 | 5.2 |
| May | 14 | 13 | 6 | 68 | 6.3 |
| Jun | 17 | 16 | 9 | 87 | 5.1 |
| Jul | 18 | 17 | 10 | 98 | 5.2 |
| Aug | 18 | 17 | 10 | 111 | 4.4 |
| Sep | 16 | 15 | 8 | 68 | 3.8 |
| Oct | 12 | 11 | 6 | 109 | 2.3 |
| Nov | 8 | 8 | 3 | 95 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 6 | 5 | 2 | 81 | 0.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (4 m) and the rim (160 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 | 70% | 168% | 61% | 29% | 58% | 103% | 121% | 103% | 70% | 157% | 86% | 154% |
| 2021 | 91% | 180% | 71% | 21% | 170% | 32% | 79% | 87% | 100% | 136% | 66% | 142% |
| 2022 | 44% | 132% | 84% | 105% | 99% | 49% | 60% | 49% | 157% | 104% | 184% | 111% |
| 2023 | 84% | 58% | 150% | 126% | 69% | 60% | 136% | 53% | 138% | 175% | 115% | 195% |
| 2024 | 83% | 111% | 165% | 216% | 137% | 56% | 88% | 95% | 55% | 87% | 41% | 122% |
| 2025 | 58% | 89% | 48% | 60% | 56% | 72% | 63% | 51% | 104% | 94% | 140% | 131% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Dura Den
United Kingdom
- 153 mDepth
- 3.5 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 16°Steepest wall
Black Rock Gorge
United Kingdom · 168 km
- 241 mDepth
- 15 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q15215427) · 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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