Sílvia Martín · CC BY 2.0
The cut
450 metres, to scale.
A slice through Foz de Lumbier 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: 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.
450m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
16.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
18°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1.4km
Length
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The wettest months are in November.
- 9°6°Jan
- 10°7°Feb
- 14°11°Mar
- 17°14°Apr
- 21°18°May
- 26°24°Jun
- 29°26°Jul
- 29°26°Aug
- 25°22°Sep
- 20°17°Oct
- 13°10°Nov
- 10°7°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.
Defile in Spain
Foz de Lumbier is a canyon in Spain, cut by the Irati River. The relief model measures 450 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 1.4 km. Rim to rim it is 16 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Liédenanearest town · 2.4 km in a straight line
- Parking 260 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Mirador Foz de Lumbiernearest viewpoint · 2.6 km from the floor
- Pamplona Airport (PNA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 32 km in a straight lineCar hire at BIQ airport (Biarritz)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In 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 Irati River runs highest from November to May.
The Irati River carries about 39 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to May. It is lowest in August.
- 64 m³/sJan
- 59 m³/sFeb
- 65 m³/sMar
- 65 m³/sApr
- 53 m³/sMay
- 37 m³/sJun
- 19 m³/sJul
- 12 m³/sAug
- 18 m³/sSep
- 35 m³/sOct
- 63 m³/sNov
- 59 m³/sDec
From about 12 m³/s in the lowest month to 65 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,586 km².
The Irati River 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
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.
- 2viewpoints within 5 kmPuente del Diablo, Mirador Foz de Lumbier
- 5marked hiking routes within 4 kmCamino Aragonés, Aita Santuaren ibilbidea - Agur Harria, Foz de Lumbier and 2 more
- 5footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 10car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmCamping Iturbero
- 10hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmIru Bide, Albergue de Peregrinos de Sangüesa, El Mesón and 7 more
- 7restaurants 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
- Liédena2.4 km in a straight line
- Lumbier2.6 km in a straight line
- Sangüesa/Zangoza6.4 km in a straight line
- Yesa8.0 km in a straight line
- Javier8.7 km in a straight line
- Leache9.1 km in a straight line
- Cáseda13 km in a straight line
- Gallipienzo15 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Foz de Lumbier.
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 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 25 | 20 | 13 | 10 |
| Afternoon · rim | 6 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 10 | 7 |
| Night · rim | -2 | -2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 2 | -1 |
| Rain (mm) | 68 | 55 | 64 | 64 | 62 | 53 | 31 | 31 | 43 | 57 | 77 | 55 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.7 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 8.5 | 10.1 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 8.2 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 3.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 6 | -2 | 68 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 10 | 7 | -2 | 55 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 14 | 11 | 1 | 64 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 17 | 14 | 3 | 64 | 7.2 |
| May | 21 | 18 | 7 | 62 | 8.5 |
| Jun | 26 | 24 | 11 | 53 | 10.1 |
| Jul | 29 | 26 | 13 | 31 | 11.1 |
| Aug | 29 | 26 | 13 | 31 | 9.9 |
| Sep | 25 | 22 | 10 | 43 | 8.2 |
| Oct | 20 | 17 | 6 | 57 | 5.9 |
| Nov | 13 | 10 | 2 | 77 | 4.1 |
| Dec | 10 | 7 | -1 | 55 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (400 m) and the rim (862 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 | 69% | 27% | 167% | 144% | 123% | 135% | 48% | 151% | 123% | 165% | 40% | 246% |
| 2021 | 106% | 93% | 17% | 62% | 59% | 191% | 43% | 37% | 221% | 91% | 154% | 212% |
| 2022 | 72% | 25% | 103% | 105% | 36% | 53% | 73% | 119% | 113% | 85% | 145% | 120% |
| 2023 | 123% | 59% | 38% | 53% | 72% | 222% | 104% | 100% | 247% | 132% | 139% | 104% |
| 2024 | 83% | 167% | 192% | 52% | 145% | 110% | 78% | 256% | 352% | 236% | 53% | 117% |
| 2025 | 131% | 63% | 163% | 125% | 151% | 164% | 69% | 121% | 101% | 60% | 129% | 99% |
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 (Q2936922) · 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?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.



