Germany user:Joergens.mi · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
693 metres, to scale.
A slice through Hirschsprung 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
693m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
15.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
28°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
442m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
5 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 19 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to September. The rim freezes at night from November to March.
- 3°-2°Jan
- 4°0°Feb
- 9°4°Mar
- 14°10°Apr
- 18°14°May
- 22°18°Jun
- 24°19°Jul
- 23°19°Aug
- 19°15°Sep
- 14°10°Oct
- 8°4°Nov
- 4°-1°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.
German gorge in the Höllental valley
Hirschsprung is a canyon in Germany, cut by the Höllbach river. The relief model measures 693 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 15 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Buchenbachnearest town · 2.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 210 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.8 km from the floor
- EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 53 km in a straight lineCar hire at BSL airport (Bâle / Mulhouse)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May 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.
- 50viewpoints within 5 kmGalgenbühl, Windeckkopf, Aussichtspunkt Bisten and 47 more
- 145marked hiking routes within 4 kmQuerweg Freiburg-Bodensee [Breitnau], Querweg Freiburg-Bodensee [Buchenbach], Querweg Freiburg-Bodensee [Kirchzarten] and 142 more
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmScheibenfelsen
- 23footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 4named waterfalls within 4 kmAngelsbach-Wasserfall, obere Alpersbach-Wasserfälle, Breitnauer Bächle-Wasserfall and 1 more
- 48car parks within 3 km
- 28information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmWohnmobilstellplatz Hinterzarten, Camping Kirchzarten, Jugendzeltplatz Stübledobel and 5 more
- 147hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmParkhotel Adler, Landhotel Falken, Sonne Neuhäusle and 144 more
- 15restaurants 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
- 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
- Buchenbach2.8 km in a straight line
- Breitnau4.7 km in a straight line
- Oberried5.3 km in a straight line
- Kirchzarten6.1 km in a straight line
- Stegen6.4 km in a straight line
- Hinterzarten7.5 km in a straight line
- Sankt Peter8.6 km in a straight line
- Sankt Märgen9.5 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Hirschsprung.
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.
Cascadyas3 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas92 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures 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 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 4 |
| Afternoon · rim | -2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 4 | -1 |
| Night · rim | -7 | -7 | -4 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 1 | -3 | -6 |
| Rain (mm) | 110 | 83 | 94 | 80 | 131 | 110 | 117 | 114 | 88 | 111 | 97 | 122 |
| Rainy days | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.8 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 14 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | -2 | -7 | 110 | 1.8 |
| Feb | 4 | 0 | -7 | 83 | 3.1 |
| Mar | 9 | 4 | -4 | 94 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 14 | 10 | -1 | 80 | 6.3 |
| May | 18 | 14 | 4 | 131 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 22 | 18 | 8 | 110 | 7.8 |
| Jul | 24 | 19 | 9 | 117 | 7.7 |
| Aug | 23 | 19 | 9 | 114 | 6.9 |
| Sep | 19 | 15 | 5 | 88 | 5.7 |
| Oct | 14 | 10 | 1 | 111 | 3.8 |
| Nov | 8 | 4 | -3 | 97 | 2.1 |
| Dec | 4 | -1 | -6 | 122 | 1.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (442 m) and the rim (1,150 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 | 68% | 252% | 106% | 34% | 75% | 150% | 59% | 134% | 85% | 155% | 45% | 106% |
| 2021 | 155% | 89% | 77% | 61% | 136% | 167% | 149% | 85% | 62% | 64% | 79% | 121% |
| 2022 | 68% | 132% | 25% | 146% | 46% | 104% | 47% | 87% | 175% | 122% | 129% | 94% |
| 2023 | 87% | 47% | 166% | 147% | 82% | 54% | 101% | 139% | 46% | 108% | 284% | 144% |
| 2024 | 127% | 138% | 124% | 134% | 167% | 166% | 104% | 63% | 214% | 106% | 100% | 86% |
| 2025 | 134% | 72% | 47% | 76% | 55% | 109% | 130% | 116% | 197% | 129% | 106% | 31% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Hirschsprung
Germany
- 693 mDepth
- 15 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Küsnachter Tobel
Switzerland · 84 km
- 383 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- 8.0 kmLength
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1620513) · 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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