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Quebrada del Toro

Argentina Argentina Canyon

Quebrada del Toro

1,286 m of rock, cut by the Río Toro.

See the cutWhen to go

Sonia Barboza · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

1,286 metres, to scale.

A slice through Quebrada del Toro where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

3,340 m3,561 m1,286 m7.1 km rim to rim1.0 km3,340 m3,561 m1,286 m7.1 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 1.1

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.

1,286m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

7.1km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

39°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

2,054m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

10 °C warmer at the bottom.

In November the afternoon reaches 25 °C on the floor, against 15 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in April. The rim freezes at night from May to September. The wettest months are from December to March.

rim · 3,561 mfloor · 2,054 m
  1. 24°14°Jan
  2. 23°13°Feb
  3. 22°12°Mar
  4. 20°11°Apr
  5. 18°8°May
  6. 18°8°Jun
  7. 17°8°Jul
  8. 20°10°Aug
  9. 22°12°Sep
  10. 24°15°Oct
  11. 25°15°Nov
  12. 25°15°Dec
Hike: AprFrost on the rim: May–SepWettest: Dec–Mar

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 Salta Province, Argentina

Quebrada del Toro is a canyon in Argentina, cut by the Río Toro. The relief model measures 1,286 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,508 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 7.1 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

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 Río Toro runs highest from January to March.

The Río Toro carries about 14 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to March. It is lowest from May to November.

  1. 37 m³/sJan
  2. 41 m³/sFeb
  3. 33 m³/sMar
  4. 19 m³/sApr
  5. 7.8 m³/sMay
  6. 3.3 m³/sJun
  7. 2.2 m³/sJul
  8. 2.2 m³/sAug
  9. 2.2 m³/sSep
  10. 3.9 m³/sOct
  11. 8.8 m³/sNov
  12. 23 m³/sDec

From about 2.2 m³/s in the lowest month to 41 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 2,971 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.

Quebrada del Toro seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 4 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 16 × 16 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 1bus stops within 2 km
  • 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
  • car parks within 3 km
  • information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • campsites within 8 km
  • hotels and guesthouses within 8 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

  • Campo Quijano21 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Quebrada del Toro.

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.

Peakyas6 mountains within 15 km
Cerro Redondo · 3.0 kmCerro Grande · 5.8 kmCerro Bayo · 7.2 kmCerro Piedra Negra · 7.4 kmCerro Pacuy · 11 kmCerro Manzano · 14 km

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor242322201818172022242525
Afternoon · rim141312118881012151515
Night · rim331-1-5-7-8-7-5-112
Rain (mm)184164116571252342965141
Rainy days18161573111251015
Sun hours/day7.67.27.37.78.08.49.09.910.29.59.38.1
Snow on the ground (cm)110111101000
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan241431847.6
Feb231331647.2
Mar221211167.3
Apr2011-1577.7
May188-5128.0
Jun188-758.4
Jul178-829.0
Aug2010-739.9
Sep2212-5410.2
Oct2415-1299.5
Nov25151659.3
Dec251521418.1

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (2,054 m) and the rim (3,561 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

El Toro, Jujuy, Argentina - panoramio
rodoluca · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quebrada del Toro - panoramio (1)
littletroll · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quebrada del Toro - panoramio - littletroll (2)
littletroll · CC BY-SA 3.0

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020123%122%45%153%24%————47%80%63%
202185%63%207%77%70%————54%43%81%
2022140%58%271%329%35%————3%44%71%
2023100%70%91%130%22%————27%51%145%
202490%184%91%98%59%————203%272%42%
2025112%74%73%58%27%————178%38%140%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Quebrada del Toro

Argentina

  • 1,286 mDepth
  • 7.1 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 39°Steepest wall

Quebrada de Humahuaca

Argentina · 177 km

  • 911 mDepth
  • 24 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 28°Steepest wall

See the guide

Quebrada de Lules

Argentina · 238 km

  • 520 mDepth
  • 2.9 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 36°Steepest wall

See the guide

Magical

Bolivia · 373 km

  • 776 mDepth
  • 19 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 33°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q6094317) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here