Switzerland Roland zh · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
383 metres, to scale.
A slice through Küsnachter Tobel 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.
383m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
30°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
8.0km
Length
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to June and from August to September. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are from July to August.
- 3°1°Jan
- 5°2°Feb
- 10°7°Mar
- 15°12°Apr
- 19°16°May
- 23°20°Jun
- 24°22°Jul
- 24°21°Aug
- 20°17°Sep
- 15°12°Oct
- 9°6°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.
Small gorge in the Swiss canton of Zürich
Küsnachter Tobel is a ravine in Switzerland, cut by the Dorfbach river. The relief model measures 383 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 8.0 km. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Küsnachtnearest town · 0.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 550 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.0 km from the floor
- Zürich Airport (ZRH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 16 km in a straight lineCar hire at ZRH airport (Zurich)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May to 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.
The river
The Dorfbach runs highest in January and from March to October.
The Dorfbach carries about 72 m³/s on average here.
- 78 m³/sJan
- 62 m³/sFeb
- 83 m³/sMar
- 79 m³/sApr
- 120 m³/sMay
- 116 m³/sJun
- 108 m³/sJul
- 111 m³/sAug
- 78 m³/sSep
- 65 m³/sOct
- 38 m³/sNov
- 58 m³/sDec
From about 38 m³/s in the lowest month to 120 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,815 km².
The Weidtobelbach from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
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.
- 54viewpoints within 5 kmaltes Kirchlein Witikon, Durst, Hedwig Stünzi-Terasse and 51 more
- 105marked hiking routes within 4 kmLimberg - Erlenbach Dorfbach, Witikon - Trichtenhusen, Süessblätz - Herrenholz and 102 more
- 115footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBohlweg, Etzlibergweg, Brüggliweg and 112 more
- 17rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 7swimming spots within 3 km
- 4named waterfalls within 4 kmKüsnachter Dorfbach-Wasserfall I, Küsnachter Dorfbach-Wasserfall II, Erlenbacher Dorfbach-Wasserfall II and 1 more
- 1caves within 3 km
- 426car parks within 3 km
- 156information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 71bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmSwiss Camper Toilet - Rastplatz Aspholz, Maurholz, Naturfreunde Zeltplatz and 6 more
- 171hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLeonardo Boutique Hotel Rigihof, Plattenhof, Sorell Hotel Seefeld and 168 more
- 172restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags 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
- Küsnacht0.5 km in a straight line
- Küsnacht / Dorf0.5 km in a straight line
- Küsnacht / Schiedhalden1.0 km in a straight line
- Küsnacht / Heslibach1.0 km in a straight line
- Küsnacht / Goldbach1.1 km in a straight line
- Küsnacht / Itschnach2.1 km in a straight line
- Erlenbach2.2 km in a straight line
- Rüschlikon2.3 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Küsnachter Tobel.
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.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas19 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas2 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 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 9 | 4 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -5 | -2 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 4 | -1 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 94 | 74 | 92 | 91 | 141 | 139 | 144 | 146 | 103 | 100 | 87 | 102 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.5 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 15 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 1 | -5 | 94 | 2.5 |
| Feb | 5 | 2 | -5 | 74 | 3.7 |
| Mar | 10 | 7 | -2 | 92 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 15 | 12 | 2 | 91 | 6.5 |
| May | 19 | 16 | 7 | 141 | 6.7 |
| Jun | 23 | 20 | 11 | 139 | 8.0 |
| Jul | 24 | 22 | 12 | 144 | 8.1 |
| Aug | 24 | 21 | 12 | 146 | 7.3 |
| Sep | 20 | 17 | 8 | 103 | 6.0 |
| Oct | 15 | 12 | 4 | 100 | 4.2 |
| Nov | 9 | 6 | -1 | 87 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 4 | 1 | -4 | 102 | 2.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (404 m) and the rim (835 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 | 56% | 204% | 88% | 47% | 83% | 143% | 66% | 145% | 92% | 145% | 36% | 107% |
| 2021 | 213% | 84% | 81% | 50% | 128% | 159% | 196% | 99% | 69% | 51% | 80% | 130% |
| 2022 | 58% | 135% | 23% | 111% | 70% | 110% | 55% | 106% | 168% | 102% | 105% | 98% |
| 2023 | 59% | 57% | 145% | 167% | 95% | 37% | 114% | 132% | 61% | 112% | 283% | 182% |
| 2024 | 130% | 104% | 150% | 123% | 163% | 135% | 100% | 68% | 185% | 121% | 97% | 95% |
| 2025 | 137% | 51% | 61% | 62% | 82% | 80% | 154% | 104% | 170% | 107% | 121% | 22% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Küsnachter Tobel
Switzerland
- 383 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- 8.0 kmLength
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q18510869) · 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