Leif Knutsen · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
389 metres, to scale.
A slice through Kjøsterud 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: 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.
389m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
5.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
24°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 20 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to August. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are from July to August.
- -1°-4°Jan
- 0°-3°Feb
- 3°1°Mar
- 10°7°Apr
- 16°14°May
- 20°18°Jun
- 22°20°Jul
- 21°18°Aug
- 16°14°Sep
- 9°6°Oct
- 3°1°Nov
- -1°-3°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 Drammen, Norway
Kjøsterud canyon is a canyon in Norway, cut by the Vinnesbekken river. The relief model measures 389 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 5.1 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Mjøndalennearest town · 5.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 360 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.0 km from the floor
- Sandefjord Airport, Torp (TRF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 65 km in a straight lineCar hire at TRF airport (Sandefjord)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 Vinnesbekken runs highest from April to October.
The Vinnesbekken carries about 319 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to October.
- 303 m³/sJan
- 123 m³/sFeb
- 224 m³/sMar
- 526 m³/sApr
- 770 m³/sMay
- 690 m³/sJun
- 519 m³/sJul
- 504 m³/sAug
- 538 m³/sSep
- 547 m³/sOct
- 455 m³/sNov
- 347 m³/sDec
From about 123 m³/s in the lowest month to 770 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 17,176 km².
Follow the Drammenselva 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), 12 × 12 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 39viewpoints within 5 kmTverråsutsikten, Hoggsfjell, Knabben and 36 more
- 6marked hiking routes within 4 kmGreen trail (Nedre Eiker), Blue trail (Nedre Eiker), Topp7Turen and 3 more
- 4climbing crags within 3 kmKlatreverket Åssiden, Aron Nedre, Bera and 1 more
- 34footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 3rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 172car parks within 3 km
- 20information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 73bus stops within 2 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmDrammen Camping and 3 more
- 12hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmEiksetra, Høvik overnatting B&B, Brokebækkastet and 9 more
- 13restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 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
- Mjøndalen5.5 km in a straight line
- Drammen5.7 km in a straight line
- Tranby9.2 km in a straight line
- Skoger9.9 km in a straight line
- Røyken15 km in a straight line
- Asker19 km in a straight line
- Blakstad20 km in a straight line
- Sande21 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Kjøsterud 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.
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 | -1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 3 | -1 |
| Afternoon · rim | -4 | -3 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 6 | 1 | -3 |
| Night · rim | -9 | -9 | -7 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 0 | -4 | -8 |
| Rain (mm) | 76 | 58 | 57 | 62 | 95 | 100 | 116 | 122 | 98 | 104 | 91 | 76 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.6 | 2.4 | 5.2 | 6.6 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 30 | 40 | 34 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 24 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -1 | -4 | -9 | 76 | 0.6 |
| Feb | 0 | -3 | -9 | 58 | 2.4 |
| Mar | 3 | 1 | -7 | 57 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 10 | 7 | -1 | 62 | 6.6 |
| May | 16 | 14 | 4 | 95 | 7.3 |
| Jun | 20 | 18 | 8 | 100 | 8.6 |
| Jul | 22 | 20 | 11 | 116 | 7.6 |
| Aug | 21 | 18 | 10 | 122 | 6.2 |
| Sep | 16 | 14 | 6 | 98 | 4.7 |
| Oct | 9 | 6 | 0 | 104 | 2.4 |
| Nov | 3 | 1 | -4 | 91 | 0.8 |
| Dec | -1 | -3 | -8 | 76 | 0.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (0 m) and the rim (409 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 | 94% | 110% | 121% | 79% | 42% | 134% | 113% | 45% | 113% | 183% | 97% | 251% |
| 2021 | 91% | 69% | 90% | 38% | 138% | 72% | 138% | 25% | 94% | 125% | 83% | 52% |
| 2022 | 62% | 140% | 25% | 36% | 66% | 102% | 62% | 54% | 134% | 93% | 184% | 102% |
| 2023 | 171% | 92% | 131% | 218% | 31% | 73% | 158% | 223% | 118% | 44% | 111% | 100% |
| 2024 | 106% | 192% | 217% | 107% | 95% | 124% | 132% | 128% | 125% | 99% | 41% | 116% |
| 2025 | 154% | 58% | 48% | 61% | 56% | 85% | 115% | 86% | 171% | 142% | 120% | 131% |
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 (Q11981075) · 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.






