W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
415 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de la Jonte 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.
415m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
36°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
383m
Floor altitude
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 from May to June and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from January to February. The wettest months are from October to November.
- 7°4°Jan
- 8°5°Feb
- 12°9°Mar
- 16°13°Apr
- 20°17°May
- 25°22°Jun
- 29°26°Jul
- 29°26°Aug
- 24°21°Sep
- 18°15°Oct
- 12°9°Nov
- 8°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.
Special Area of Conservation in France
Gorges de la Jonte is a canyon in France, cut by the La Jonte river. The relief model measures 415 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 503 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 3.6 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Meyrueisnearest town · 15 km in a straight line
- Parking 340 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.7 km from the floor
- Rodez–Aveyron Airport (RDZ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 65 km in a straight lineCar hire at MPL airport (Montpellier/Méditerranée)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May to June and from September to 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 La Jonte runs highest in April and from October to December.
The La Jonte carries about 4.3 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in April and from October to December. It is lowest from July to August.
- 4.8 m³/sJan
- 4.2 m³/sFeb
- 4.8 m³/sMar
- 5.4 m³/sApr
- 4.8 m³/sMay
- 2.8 m³/sJun
- 1.4 m³/sJul
- 1.0 m³/sAug
- 2.1 m³/sSep
- 5.2 m³/sOct
- 6.8 m³/sNov
- 5.8 m³/sDec
From about 1.0 m³/s in the lowest month to 6.8 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 220 km².
Follow the Tarn 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
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.
- 40viewpoints within 5 kmLe Vase de Chine, Baousso del Biel, Belvédère des Vautours and 37 more
- 12marked hiking routes within 4 kmTour du Causse de Sauveterre, GR 62A, CSG V3 : La Canourgue - Croix de la Croisette and 9 more
- 15via ferrata routes within 4 kmVia Ferrata de Liaucous: Tracé Bleu, Via Ferrata de Liaucous: Tracé Rouge and 13 more
- 30climbing crags within 3 kmDiagonal du Gogol, Petite Arrete (Ref), Pegase (ref) and 27 more
- 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmL’Alternative
- 22caves within 3 km
- 24car parks within 3 km
- 6information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 16campsites within 8 kmLe Peyrelade, Camping Les Prades, Camping de l'Aubigue and 13 more
- 35hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGîte Evolutions, Des Gorges au Viaduc, La Calquière and 32 more
- 13restaurants and cafés 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
- Meyrueis15 km in a straight line
- Millau16 km in a straight line
- Creissels18 km in a straight line
- Sévérac-le-Château20 km in a straight line
- La Cavalerie21 km in a straight line
- Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon25 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de la Jonte.
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 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 18 | 12 | 8 |
| Afternoon · rim | 4 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| Night · rim | -3 | -3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 1 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 52 | 60 | 78 | 77 | 50 | 38 | 41 | 61 | 100 | 93 | 68 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.2 | 4.6 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 10.0 | 8.9 | 7.2 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 9 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 4 | -3 | 67 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 8 | 5 | -3 | 52 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 12 | 9 | 0 | 60 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 16 | 13 | 2 | 78 | 6.3 |
| May | 20 | 17 | 6 | 77 | 7.4 |
| Jun | 25 | 22 | 10 | 50 | 9.4 |
| Jul | 29 | 26 | 12 | 38 | 10.0 |
| Aug | 29 | 26 | 12 | 41 | 8.9 |
| Sep | 24 | 21 | 8 | 61 | 7.2 |
| Oct | 18 | 15 | 6 | 100 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 12 | 9 | 1 | 93 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 8 | 5 | -2 | 68 | 3.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (383 m) and the rim (886 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 | 70% | 51% | 67% | 80% | 112% | 248% | 17% | 88% | 158% | 90% | 54% | 163% |
| 2021 | 59% | 82% | 25% | 41% | 82% | 117% | 132% | 39% | 105% | 50% | 59% | 95% |
| 2022 | 77% | 36% | 83% | 64% | 15% | 112% | 50% | 82% | 130% | 27% | 66% | 78% |
| 2023 | 52% | 37% | 80% | 50% | 80% | 156% | 46% | 51% | 60% | 74% | 78% | 60% |
| 2024 | 52% | 104% | 184% | 68% | 129% | 106% | 91% | 89% | 150% | 92% | 46% | 45% |
| 2025 | 49% | 43% | 68% | 42% | 27% | 21% | 40% | 58% | 23% | 23% | 39% | 115% |
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 (Q2051933) · 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.






