France Pmau · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
1,804 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de la Diosaz 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: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
1,804m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
18.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
44°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
797m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
18 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 6 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in June and from August to September. The rim freezes at night all year round.
- 4°-14°Jan
- 4°-14°Feb
- 7°-10°Mar
- 13°-4°Apr
- 18°0°May
- 22°5°Jun
- 24°6°Jul
- 24°6°Aug
- 20°3°Sep
- 16°-2°Oct
- 9°-8°Nov
- 5°-13°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.
Gorges de la Diosaz is a gorge in France, cut by the Diosaz river. The relief model measures 1,804 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 2,708 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 18 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Les Houchesnearest town · 4.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 380 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.7 km from the floor
- Annecy Meythet airport (NCY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 54 km in a straight lineCar hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In June and from August 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.
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.
- 34viewpoints within 5 kmAiguillette des Houches, 1er panorama du Glacier des Bossons, 2e panorama du Glacier des Bossons and 31 more
- 135marked hiking routes within 4 kmSentier des Gardes, Boucle du Lac Vert, Tour du Mont Blanc - Itinéraire principal and 132 more
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmRocher d'Escalade de la Plaine Saint-Jean
- 9footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPont Achille Cazin, Pont de Barme-Rousse, Balcon du Soufflet and 6 more
- 1caves within 3 km
- 21car parks within 3 km
- 26information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 6bus stops within 2 km
- 24campsites within 8 kmCamping Les Arolles, Aire naturelle de camping de Passy Plaine-Joux, Bivouac des chalets d'Arlevé and 21 more
- 123hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHôtel Eden, Le Morgane, Le Refuge des Aiglons and 120 more
- 11restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls 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).
Towns nearby
- Les Houches4.8 km in a straight line
- Chamonix-Mont-Blanc6.2 km in a straight line
- Saint-Gervais-les-Bains7.5 km in a straight line
- Passy7.5 km in a straight line
- Domancy11 km in a straight line
- Combloux12 km in a straight line
- Sallanches12 km in a straight line
- Les Contamines-Montjoie13 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de la Diosaz.
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.
Cascadyas8 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas105 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 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 5 |
| Afternoon · rim | -14 | -14 | -10 | -4 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | -2 | -8 | -13 |
| Night · rim | -22 | -22 | -18 | -14 | -10 | -5 | -4 | -4 | -8 | -11 | -16 | -20 |
| Rain (mm) | 107 | 77 | 94 | 74 | 117 | 105 | 103 | 105 | 76 | 86 | 94 | 110 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.3 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 49 | 62 | 46 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 29 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | -14 | -22 | 107 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 4 | -14 | -22 | 77 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 7 | -10 | -18 | 94 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 13 | -4 | -14 | 74 | 6.3 |
| May | 18 | 0 | -10 | 117 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 22 | 5 | -5 | 105 | 8.5 |
| Jul | 24 | 6 | -4 | 103 | 8.8 |
| Aug | 24 | 6 | -4 | 105 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 20 | 3 | -8 | 76 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 16 | -2 | -11 | 86 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 9 | -8 | -16 | 94 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 5 | -13 | -20 | 110 | 2.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (797 m) and the rim (3,505 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 | 54% | 206% | 105% | 67% | 97% | 145% | 50% | 116% | 136% | 209% | 24% | 70% |
| 2021 | 146% | 67% | 73% | 63% | 124% | 103% | 147% | 64% | 93% | 62% | 59% | 162% |
| 2022 | 39% | 119% | 19% | 126% | 57% | 75% | 33% | 55% | 179% | 107% | 104% | 113% |
| 2023 | 72% | 8% | 186% | 138% | 76% | 101% | 68% | 101% | 87% | 167% | 272% | 194% |
| 2024 | 101% | 88% | 142% | 128% | 156% | 161% | 102% | 78% | 280% | 175% | 79% | 110% |
| 2025 | 124% | 39% | 41% | 141% | 88% | 92% | 102% | 91% | 175% | 157% | 106% | 28% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de la Diosaz
France
- 1,804 mDepth
- 18 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 44°Steepest wall
Gorges du Dailley
Switzerland · 34 km
- 1,855 mDepth
- 6.4 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 46°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q49342904) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| 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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