Canada David Stanley · CC BY 2.0
The cut
779 metres, to scale.
A slice through Marie 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: 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.
779m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
15.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
35°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
62m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
5 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 19 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are from October to January.
- 6°1°Jan
- 7°2°Feb
- 9°4°Mar
- 12°7°Apr
- 17°12°May
- 20°15°Jun
- 24°18°Jul
- 24°19°Aug
- 20°15°Sep
- 14°9°Oct
- 9°4°Nov
- 6°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.
Valley in British Columbia, Canada
Marie Canyon is a canyon in Canada, cut by the Cowichan River. The relief model measures 779 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 16 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Lake Cowichannearest town · 12 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,920 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 5.2 km from the floor
- Nanaimo Airport (YCD)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 30 km in a straight lineCar hire at YCD airport (Nanaimo)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June 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 Cowichan River runs highest from November to February.
The Cowichan River carries about 46 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to February. It is lowest from June to September.
- 83 m³/sJan
- 64 m³/sFeb
- 61 m³/sMar
- 46 m³/sApr
- 28 m³/sMay
- 17 m³/sJun
- 9.9 m³/sJul
- 8.7 m³/sAug
- 16 m³/sSep
- 42 m³/sOct
- 72 m³/sNov
- 77 m³/sDec
From about 8.7 m³/s in the lowest month to 83 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 747 km².
The Cowichan River 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.
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmNorth Side Trail, Vancouver Island Trail, Trans-Canada Trail - Cowichan Valley Trail
- 11footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km66 Mile Trestle, Cowichan River Footpath, South Side Trail and 8 more
- 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmStoltz Pool Boat Launch
- 5car parks within 3 km
- 12information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4bus stops within 2 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmHorseshoe Bend Group Campsite, Stoltz Pool Campground, Stoltz Pool Group Campground
- 3hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCowichan Valley Hostel, Cowichan River Lodge, Farm Table Inn
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 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
- Lake Cowichan12 km in a straight line
- Duncan14 km in a straight line
- Koksilah16 km in a straight line
- North Cowichan17 km in a straight line
- Chemainus20 km in a straight line
- Crofton20 km in a straight line
- Saltair21 km in a straight line
- Maple Bay21 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Marie 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.
Riveryas3 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas6 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas4 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 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| Night · rim | -3 | -3 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 123 | 68 | 90 | 60 | 45 | 38 | 23 | 28 | 52 | 98 | 132 | 118 |
| Rainy days | 18 | 15 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 19 | 19 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 5.1 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 9.6 | 8.6 | 6.1 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 10 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 1 | -3 | 123 | 1.2 |
| Feb | 7 | 2 | -3 | 68 | 3.2 |
| Mar | 9 | 4 | -1 | 90 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 12 | 7 | 1 | 60 | 5.1 |
| May | 17 | 12 | 4 | 45 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 20 | 15 | 7 | 38 | 7.3 |
| Jul | 24 | 18 | 9 | 23 | 9.6 |
| Aug | 24 | 19 | 10 | 28 | 8.6 |
| Sep | 20 | 15 | 7 | 52 | 6.1 |
| Oct | 14 | 9 | 3 | 98 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 9 | 4 | 0 | 132 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 6 | 1 | -3 | 118 | 0.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (62 m) and the rim (844 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 | 145% | 87% | 38% | 51% | 152% | 144% | 130% | 161% | 108% | 85% | 94% | 121% |
| 2021 | 100% | 97% | 50% | 46% | 72% | 90% | 64% | 55% | 190% | 111% | 170% | 90% |
| 2022 | 86% | 72% | 86% | 146% | 191% | 159% | 158% | 61% | 20% | 69% | 58% | 104% |
| 2023 | 66% | 91% | 53% | 123% | 70% | 77% | 111% | 109% | 77% | 103% | 70% | 114% |
| 2024 | 126% | 98% | 89% | 88% | 108% | 107% | 71% | 232% | 93% | 133% | 102% | 112% |
| 2025 | 31% | 109% | 143% | 76% | 122% | 67% | 81% | 181% | 147% | 95% | 77% | 121% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Marie Canyon
Canada
- 779 mDepth
- 16 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 35°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q6762785) · 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
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