France Gorge
Gorges de Colombières
504 m of rock, cut by the Ruisseau d'Arles.
No machine-readable author provided. Flaragorn assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domain
The cut
504 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de Colombières 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.
504m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
6.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
28°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
141m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 30 °C on the floor, against 25 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are from October to November.
- 9°4°Jan
- 10°5°Feb
- 14°8°Mar
- 18°12°Apr
- 22°16°May
- 27°22°Jun
- 30°25°Jul
- 30°24°Aug
- 25°20°Sep
- 20°14°Oct
- 14°8°Nov
- 10°4°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 Vieussan, France
Gorges de Colombières is a gorge in France, cut by the Ruisseau d'Arles river. The relief model measures 504 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 870 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 6.2 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Le Poujol-sur-Orbnearest town · 4.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 470 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.9 km from the floor
- Béziers Vias airport (BZR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 40 km in a straight lineCar hire at BZR airport (Béziers)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 Ruisseau d'Arles runs highest from March to April and from October to January.
The Ruisseau d'Arles carries about 14 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to April and from October to January. It is lowest from July to August.
- 21 m³/sJan
- 19 m³/sFeb
- 20 m³/sMar
- 22 m³/sApr
- 18 m³/sMay
- 9.5 m³/sJun
- 4.1 m³/sJul
- 3.0 m³/sAug
- 7.5 m³/sSep
- 20 m³/sOct
- 27 m³/sNov
- 23 m³/sDec
From about 3.0 m³/s in the lowest month to 27 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 611 km².
Follow the Orb from source to mouth on Riveryas
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
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.
- 17viewpoints within 5 kmTour du Pin, Montagne de Conil, Table d’orientation du Caroux and 14 more
- 15marked hiking routes within 4 kmCircuit Le Roc de Bessèdes, Le Vialaïs, Tours dans le Pays Haut Languedoc et Vignobles and 12 more
- 20climbing crags within 3 kmEperon de Lafage, Pilier du Bosc, Roque Rouge and 17 more
- 14footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmVoie Verte Passa Païs, Sentier de Saint-Martin-de-l'Arçon and 12 more
- 2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmCanoé Tarassac
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmCascade d'Albine
- 23car parks within 3 km
- 19information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 6bus stops within 2 km
- 7campsites within 8 kmCamping à la ferme, Le Baous, Aire CAMPING-CAR PARK de Lamalou-les-Bains and 4 more
- 24hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAuberge au Fil de l'Eau, Galimar, Belleville and 21 more
- 9restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 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
- Le Poujol-sur-Orb4.2 km in a straight line
- Lamalou-les-Bains5.8 km in a straight line
- Hérépian8.5 km in a straight line
- Bédarieux12 km in a straight line
- La Tour-sur-Orb13 km in a straight line
- Cessenon-sur-Orb16 km in a straight line
- Laurens17 km in a straight line
- Le Bousquet-d'Orb17 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de Colombières.
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.
Peakyas14 mountains within 15 kmFigures 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 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 10 |
| Afternoon · rim | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 4 |
| Night · rim | -3 | -3 | -1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 1 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 57 | 44 | 53 | 65 | 58 | 35 | 26 | 30 | 48 | 80 | 71 | 50 |
| Rainy days | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.8 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 10.6 | 11.1 | 9.7 | 7.8 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 4 | -3 | 57 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 10 | 5 | -3 | 44 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 14 | 8 | -1 | 53 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 18 | 12 | 2 | 65 | 7.3 |
| May | 22 | 16 | 6 | 58 | 8.6 |
| Jun | 27 | 22 | 10 | 35 | 10.6 |
| Jul | 30 | 25 | 12 | 26 | 11.1 |
| Aug | 30 | 24 | 12 | 30 | 9.7 |
| Sep | 25 | 20 | 8 | 48 | 7.8 |
| Oct | 20 | 14 | 5 | 80 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 14 | 8 | 1 | 71 | 4.1 |
| Dec | 10 | 4 | -2 | 50 | 3.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (141 m) and the rim (1,012 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 | 103% | 40% | 77% | 135% | 136% | 201% | 30% | 100% | 168% | 71% | 56% | 146% |
| 2021 | 56% | 93% | 22% | 42% | 79% | 116% | 134% | 56% | 119% | 44% | 120% | 99% |
| 2022 | 60% | 26% | 125% | 72% | 16% | 93% | 157% | 85% | 160% | 21% | 76% | 91% |
| 2023 | 59% | 47% | 68% | 40% | 93% | 157% | 84% | 67% | 60% | 53% | 63% | 54% |
| 2024 | 64% | 96% | 162% | 67% | 134% | 105% | 96% | 74% | 132% | 89% | 54% | 50% |
| 2025 | 38% | 44% | 67% | 35% | 33% | 19% | 75% | 65% | 25% | 16% | 37% | 149% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de Colombières
France
- 504 mDepth
- 6.2 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3110978) · 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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