Japan Yama 1009 at Japanese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
695 metres, to scale.
A slice through Sandan-kyō 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.
695m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
11.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
34°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
16km
Length
Rim to floor
5 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 30 °C on the floor, against 25 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are from June to July and in September.
- 6°1°Jan
- 8°3°Feb
- 12°7°Mar
- 17°13°Apr
- 22°18°May
- 26°21°Jun
- 29°24°Jul
- 30°25°Aug
- 26°21°Sep
- 21°16°Oct
- 15°10°Nov
- 8°4°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.
Ravine in Japan
Sandan-kyō is a ravine in Japan. The relief model measures 695 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 16 km. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Nishi-Chugoku Sanchi Quasi-National Park.
Getting there.
- Togōchinearest town · 4.4 km in a straight line
- Parking 100 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Iwami Airport (IWJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 39 km in a straight lineCar hire in HiroshimaDiscover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Octoberbest 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 the river runs highest from June to July.
The the river carries about 3.6 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from June to July.
- 2.1 m³/sJan
- 2.4 m³/sFeb
- 3.3 m³/sMar
- 3.7 m³/sApr
- 3.8 m³/sMay
- 4.9 m³/sJun
- 6.1 m³/sJul
- 4.1 m³/sAug
- 4.0 m³/sSep
- 3.4 m³/sOct
- 2.7 m³/sNov
- 2.5 m³/sDec
From about 2.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 6.1 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 117 km².
The Ōta 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.
- 5footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 2named waterfalls within 4 km三段滝, 二段滝
- 3car parks within 3 km
- 11bus stops within 2 km
- 3hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmフルハウス戸河内, 戸河内旅館, いこいの村ひろしま
- 4restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- caves within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- campsites within 8 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
- Togōchi4.4 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Sandan-kyō.
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.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas9 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 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 8 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 10 | 4 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -6 | -4 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 0 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 75 | 109 | 125 | 146 | 211 | 260 | 122 | 170 | 113 | 79 | 84 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.3 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 3.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 1 | -6 | 63 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 8 | 3 | -6 | 75 | 3.9 |
| Mar | 12 | 7 | -4 | 109 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 17 | 13 | 1 | 125 | 6.0 |
| May | 22 | 18 | 7 | 146 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 26 | 21 | 12 | 211 | 4.7 |
| Jul | 29 | 24 | 16 | 260 | 4.9 |
| Aug | 30 | 25 | 17 | 122 | 6.4 |
| Sep | 26 | 21 | 13 | 170 | 5.1 |
| Oct | 21 | 16 | 6 | 113 | 5.1 |
| Nov | 15 | 10 | 0 | 79 | 4.1 |
| Dec | 8 | 4 | -4 | 84 | 3.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (276 m) and the rim (1,010 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 | 152% | 93% | 115% | 135% | 75% | 136% | 203% | 11% | 112% | 89% | 62% | 86% |
| 2021 | 118% | 80% | 107% | 90% | 163% | 70% | 109% | 454% | 138% | 29% | 140% | 50% |
| 2022 | 43% | 36% | 106% | 111% | 32% | 48% | 96% | 106% | 130% | 45% | 63% | 44% |
| 2023 | 100% | 79% | 73% | 218% | 238% | 163% | 108% | 76% | 64% | 21% | 81% | 82% |
| 2024 | 103% | 193% | 159% | 135% | 130% | 147% | 108% | 134% | 47% | 210% | 271% | 25% |
| 2025 | 31% | 67% | 151% | 89% | 168% | 128% | 34% | 219% | 195% | 125% | 62% | 73% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Sandan-kyō
Japan
- 695 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- 16 kmLength
- 34°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3137717) · 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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