Canada Fred Button · Public domain
The cut
1,187 metres, to scale.
A slice through Kitselas Canyon 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.
1,187m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
35°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
70m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
9 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 13 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to August. The rim freezes at night from October to May. The wettest months are from October to November.
- 1°-7°Jan
- 2°-7°Feb
- 4°-4°Mar
- 8°-1°Apr
- 15°6°May
- 20°11°Jun
- 22°13°Jul
- 21°12°Aug
- 17°8°Sep
- 10°2°Oct
- 4°-4°Nov
- 1°-8°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.
Valley in Kitimat-Stikine Regional District, Canada
Kitselas Canyon is a canyon in Canada, cut by the Skeena River. The relief model measures 1,187 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Terracenearest town · 14 km in a straight line
- Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat (YXT)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 17 km in a straight lineCar hire at YXT airport (Terrace)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Augustbest 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 Skeena River runs highest from May to July.
The Skeena River carries about 861 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to July, fed by melting snow.
- 662 m³/sJan
- 208 m³/sFeb
- 462 m³/sMar
- 947 m³/sApr
- 1,977 m³/sMay
- 2,131 m³/sJun
- 1,565 m³/sJul
- 849 m³/sAug
- 766 m³/sSep
- 1,125 m³/sOct
- 1,335 m³/sNov
- 939 m³/sDec
From about 208 m³/s in the lowest month to 2,131 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 42,152 km².
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.
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 1campsites within 8 kmKleanza Creek Provincial Campground
- 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCopper River Motel
- viewpoints within 5 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges 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
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- restaurants and cafés 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
- Terrace14 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Kitselas Canyon.
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.
Peakyas8 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 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 1 |
| Afternoon · rim | -7 | -7 | -4 | -1 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 2 | -4 | -8 |
| Night · rim | -14 | -15 | -12 | -8 | -2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | -4 | -10 | -14 |
| Rain (mm) | 143 | 87 | 103 | 80 | 78 | 93 | 96 | 102 | 130 | 164 | 157 | 124 |
| Rainy days | 20 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 21 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.6 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 80 | 99 | 103 | 81 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 30 | 55 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | -7 | -14 | 143 | 0.6 |
| Feb | 2 | -7 | -15 | 87 | 2.7 |
| Mar | 4 | -4 | -12 | 103 | 3.1 |
| Apr | 8 | -1 | -8 | 80 | 4.9 |
| May | 15 | 6 | -2 | 78 | 5.9 |
| Jun | 20 | 11 | 2 | 93 | 5.8 |
| Jul | 22 | 13 | 4 | 96 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 21 | 12 | 4 | 102 | 5.6 |
| Sep | 17 | 8 | 0 | 130 | 3.6 |
| Oct | 10 | 2 | -4 | 164 | 2.1 |
| Nov | 4 | -4 | -10 | 157 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 1 | -8 | -14 | 124 | 0.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (70 m) and the rim (1,415 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 | 126% | 103% | 82% | 66% | 76% | 132% | 149% | 232% | 119% | 91% | 100% | 132% |
| 2021 | 96% | 136% | 153% | 98% | 100% | 115% | 91% | 109% | 174% | 74% | 143% | 62% |
| 2022 | 95% | 145% | 99% | 115% | 120% | 150% | 113% | 86% | 60% | 97% | 77% | 58% |
| 2023 | 77% | 207% | 46% | 117% | 45% | 60% | 103% | 60% | 59% | 59% | 90% | 123% |
| 2024 | 68% | 50% | 45% | 85% | 87% | 104% | 57% | 63% | 156% | 96% | 112% | 81% |
| 2025 | 62% | 71% | 61% | 85% | 124% | 69% | 91% | 97% | 88% | 92% | 87% | 157% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Kitselas Canyon
Canada
- 1,187 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 35°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1546580) · 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.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here