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Simeto

Italy Italy Canyon

Forre laviche del Simeto

476 m of rock, cut by the Fiume Simeto.

See the cutWhen to go

archenzo · CC BY-SA 3.0

The cut

476 metres, to scale.

A slice through Forre laviche del Simeto where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

857 m913 m476 m19 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0857 m913 m476 m19 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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.

476m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

19.3km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

22°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

381m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

3 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 34 °C on the floor, against 31 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The wettest months are from October to February.

rim · 913 mfloor · 381 m
  1. 12°9°Jan
  2. 13°10°Feb
  3. 16°13°Mar
  4. 19°16°Apr
  5. 24°21°May
  6. 30°27°Jun
  7. 34°31°Jul
  8. 34°30°Aug
  9. 28°25°Sep
  10. 23°20°Oct
  11. 18°14°Nov
  12. 14°10°Dec
Hike: Apr–May, OctWettest: Oct–Feb

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.

Forre laviche del Simeto is a canyon in Italy, cut by the Fiume Simeto. The relief model measures 476 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 19 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

  • Brontenearest town · 6.8 km in a straight line
  • Forre-Laviche del Simetonearest viewpoint · 4.8 km from the floor
  • Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 40 km in a straight lineCar hire at CTA airport (Catania)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From April to May and in 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.

The river

The Fiume Simeto runs highest from November to February.

The Fiume Simeto carries about 3.3 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to February. It is lowest from May to September.

  1. 8.9 m³/sJan
  2. 8.0 m³/sFeb
  3. 6.1 m³/sMar
  4. 3.9 m³/sApr
  5. 1.8 m³/sMay
  6. 0.9 m³/sJun
  7. 0.5 m³/sJul
  8. 0.5 m³/sAug
  9. 2.4 m³/sSep
  10. 5.0 m³/sOct
  11. 8.1 m³/sNov
  12. 9.6 m³/sDec

From about 0.51 m³/s in the lowest month to 9.6 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 606 km².

The Simeto 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.

Forre laviche del Simeto seen from above (Sentinel-2) 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.

  • 1viewpoints within 5 kmForre-Laviche del Simeto
  • 4hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLa Fucina di Vulcano, I Cugi, Agriturismo Oro Verde and 1 more
  • 1restaurants and cafés within 4 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

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

  • Bronte6.8 km in a straight line
  • Adrano9.8 km in a straight line
  • Maletto12 km in a straight line
  • Cesarò13 km in a straight line
  • Biancavilla13 km in a straight line
  • San Teodoro14 km in a straight line
  • Centuripe14 km in a straight line
  • Maniace16 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Forre laviche del Simeto.

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor121316192430343428231814
Afternoon · rim91013162127313025201410
Night · rim11359141718141063
Rain (mm)67615136161361153708380
Rainy days11109743238101213
Sun hours/day4.85.56.67.99.811.311.810.47.76.15.04.3
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan1291674.8
Feb13101615.5
Mar16133516.6
Apr19165367.9
May24219169.8
Jun3027141311.3
Jul343117611.8
Aug3430181110.4
Sep282514537.7
Oct232010706.1
Nov18146835.0
Dec14103804.3

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (381 m) and the rim (913 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Forre laviche del Fiume Simeto
Davide Mauro · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cascata del Simeto presso le spiagge Manganelli - Simeto Falls2
Archeo · CC BY-SA 3.0
BasaltoColonnale
Ing.russo · Public domain

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202014%4%181%20%38%34%157%58%183%57%112%115%
202164%40%121%64%16%18%43%8%53%285%125%42%
202237%18%67%46%198%27%5%318%65%40%126%28%
202359%140%38%84%1,060%80%91%63%31%4%34%17%
202449%51%27%19%104%16%14%94%44%47%58%25%
202553%45%124%26%1,742%86%0%53%65%225%205%249%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Forre laviche del Simeto

Italy

  • 476 mDepth
  • 19 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 22°Steepest wall

Gole dell'Alcantara

Italy · 39 km

  • 856 mDepth
  • 18 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 29°Steepest wall

See the guide

Gole della stretta

Italy · 60 km

  • 355 mDepth
  • 16 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 25°Steepest wall

See the guide

Gole del Sosio

Italy · 134 km

  • 386 mDepth
  • 2.2 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 37°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q3748454) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here