Wimbachklamm, Narrow canyon in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, Germany.
Wimbachklamm is a narrow slot canyon in the Berchtesgaden Alps, carved through limestone and running about 500 meters long. Wooden walkways are fixed to the rock walls along the way, allowing visitors to pass through above the stream that flows at the bottom.
The gorge formed at the end of the last ice age, when meltwater cut into the limestone of the Alps. After the glaciers pulled back, the Wimbach stream kept carving the rock, giving the canyon its current shape.
The name Wimbachklamm comes from the stream that runs through it, the Wimbach. Many visitors walk through the gorge as the first leg of a longer hike into the surrounding mountains, heading toward mountain huts deeper in the valley.
The gorge is easiest to walk through during warmer months, when the wooden paths are dry and the water level is lower. Solid footwear with good grip helps, as the boards can get slippery after rain or when the stream runs high.
The water in the gorge often looks milky white because the stream carries tiny fragments of limestone worn from the rock walls. This happens year-round and is most visible after periods of heavy rain or snowmelt, when the current runs faster.
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