Australia 43MZrinyiII · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
188 metres, to scale.
A slice through Galston Gorge 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
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.
188m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
1.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
24°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
12m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In January the afternoon reaches 29 °C. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The wettest months are from February to March.
- 29°28°Jan
- 27°26°Feb
- 26°24°Mar
- 23°22°Apr
- 20°19°May
- 17°16°Jun
- 16°15°Jul
- 18°17°Aug
- 21°20°Sep
- 24°23°Oct
- 26°24°Nov
- 27°26°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 the Berowra Valley Regional Park, Sydney, Australia
Galston Gorge is a gorge in Australia, cut by the Carters Gully river. The relief model measures 188 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 1.4 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Hornsby Heightsnearest town · 1.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,660 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
- Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 33 km in a straight lineCar hire at SYD airport (Sydney)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in 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.
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
1.2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.0 × 5.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 31viewpoints within 5 kmThe Porter Scenic Lookout, Fishponds Lookout, Quarter Sessions Road Lookout and 28 more
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmGreat North Walk, Blue Gum Walk
- 9footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmThe Great North Walk and 8 more
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmLyrebird Falls
- 1caves within 3 km
- 37car parks within 3 km
- 14information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 26bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmTunks Ridge Campground, Ridge Top Campground, Crosslands Reserve and 6 more
- 5hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmMount Kuring-Gai Motel, Ascott Motor Inn, Ibis and 2 more
- 19restaurants and cafés 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
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
- Hornsby Heights1.6 km in a straight line
- Galston3.3 km in a straight line
- Mount Colah4.0 km in a straight line
- Asquith4.2 km in a straight line
- Hornsby4.5 km in a straight line
- Westleigh5.2 km in a straight line
- Mount Kuring-Gai5.3 km in a straight line
- Waitara5.5 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Galston Gorge.
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.
Peakyas11 mountains within 15 km
Coastya1 beaches 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 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 27 |
| Afternoon · rim | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 26 |
| Night · rim | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 16 |
| Rain (mm) | 91 | 136 | 110 | 74 | 54 | 86 | 43 | 43 | 44 | 66 | 86 | 80 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 8.2 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 7.3 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.2 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 28 | 18 | 91 | 8.2 |
| Feb | 27 | 26 | 18 | 136 | 7.2 |
| Mar | 26 | 24 | 17 | 110 | 6.9 |
| Apr | 23 | 22 | 14 | 74 | 6.6 |
| May | 20 | 19 | 11 | 54 | 6.2 |
| Jun | 17 | 16 | 9 | 86 | 5.1 |
| Jul | 16 | 15 | 7 | 43 | 6.2 |
| Aug | 18 | 17 | 8 | 43 | 7.3 |
| Sep | 21 | 20 | 10 | 44 | 8.1 |
| Oct | 24 | 23 | 13 | 66 | 8.1 |
| Nov | 26 | 24 | 15 | 86 | 7.9 |
| Dec | 27 | 26 | 16 | 80 | 8.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (12 m) and the rim (211 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 | 75% | 267% | 168% | 92% | 79% | 21% | 264% | 126% | 68% | 206% | 68% | 179% |
| 2021 | 83% | 83% | 307% | 25% | 69% | 49% | 52% | 86% | 74% | 96% | 255% | 112% |
| 2022 | 164% | 111% | 373% | 135% | 108% | 8% | 529% | 104% | 199% | 234% | 83% | 44% |
| 2023 | 165% | 70% | 82% | 86% | 30% | 16% | 25% | 78% | 23% | 49% | 140% | 111% |
| 2024 | 145% | 70% | 33% | 273% | 133% | 95% | 54% | 58% | 70% | 55% | 109% | 53% |
| 2025 | 140% | 46% | 112% | 85% | 290% | 12% | 177% | 344% | 97% | 52% | 44% | 72% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5519336) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| 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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