Australia Anton Faymann · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
49 metres, to scale.
A slice through Heavitree Gap 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: a person · 1.8 m · a two-storey house · 9.0 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.
49m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
5.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
13°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
557m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In January the afternoon reaches 38 °C. The best months to hike are from June to July. The floor passes 35 °C from November to February: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are from December to January.
- 38°37°Jan
- 37°36°Feb
- 34°33°Mar
- 30°30°Apr
- 24°24°May
- 20°20°Jun
- 21°20°Jul
- 24°23°Aug
- 30°29°Sep
- 34°33°Oct
- 36°35°Nov
- 37°36°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.
Water gap in the Northern Territory of Australia
Heavitree Gap is a water gap in Australia, cut by the Todd River. The relief model measures 49 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 128 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 5.1 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- The Gapnearest town · 1.7 km in a straight line
- Heavitree Gap Lookoutnearest viewpoint · 3.2 km from the floor
- Alice Springs Airport (ASP)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 10 km in a straight lineCar hire at ASP airport (Alice Springs)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Julybest 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 Todd River runs highest from January to February.
The Todd River carries about 1.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to February. It is lowest from May to October.
- 3.1 m³/sJan
- 2.6 m³/sFeb
- 1.8 m³/sMar
- 0.8 m³/sApr
- 0.5 m³/sMay
- 0.3 m³/sJun
- 0.5 m³/sJul
- 0.2 m³/sAug
- 0.1 m³/sSep
- 0.3 m³/sOct
- 1.2 m³/sNov
- 2.2 m³/sDec
From about 0.07 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.1 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 522 km².
The Todd 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
3 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 11 × 11 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 6viewpoints within 5 kmAnzac Hill, Coolabah Swamp and Native Fig Lookout, River and Ranges Lookout and 3 more
- 6footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 121car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 29bus stops within 2 km
- 7campsites within 8 kmWallaby Gap, G'day Mate Tourist Park, Alice Springs Tourist Park and 4 more
- 31hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmBest Western Elkira Motel, Bond Spring Outback Retreat, Pathdorf and 28 more
- 26restaurants and cafés within 4 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves 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
- The Gap1.7 km in a straight line
- Gillen1.9 km in a straight line
- Desert Springs2.5 km in a straight line
- Araluen3.6 km in a straight line
- Alice Springs3.7 km in a straight line
- Sadadeen4.3 km in a straight line
- Ross4.4 km in a straight line
- East Side4.7 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Heavitree Gap.
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.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas13 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 | 38 | 37 | 34 | 30 | 24 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 30 | 34 | 36 | 37 |
| Afternoon · rim | 37 | 36 | 33 | 30 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 29 | 33 | 35 | 36 |
| Night · rim | 23 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 22 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 34 | 46 |
| Rainy days | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Sun hours/day | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.2 | 10.4 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 11.3 | 10.8 | 10.1 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 37 | 23 | 54 | 10.6 |
| Feb | 37 | 36 | 21 | 38 | 10.6 |
| Mar | 34 | 33 | 19 | 29 | 10.2 |
| Apr | 30 | 30 | 14 | 11 | 10.4 |
| May | 24 | 24 | 9 | 14 | 9.3 |
| Jun | 20 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 9.2 |
| Jul | 21 | 20 | 5 | 14 | 9.6 |
| Aug | 24 | 23 | 7 | 3 | 10.8 |
| Sep | 30 | 29 | 12 | 8 | 10.9 |
| Oct | 34 | 33 | 16 | 17 | 11.3 |
| Nov | 36 | 35 | 19 | 34 | 10.8 |
| Dec | 37 | 36 | 22 | 46 | 10.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (557 m) and the rim (685 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 | 45% | 5% | 95% | 47% | 2% | 0% | 0% | — | 0% | 91% | 82% | 220% |
| 2021 | 28% | 60% | 188% | 0% | 0% | 61% | 0% | — | 232% | 148% | 281% | 39% |
| 2022 | 255% | 149% | 1% | 11% | 0% | 50% | 0% | — | 136% | 126% | 96% | 145% |
| 2023 | 276% | 10% | 62% | 239% | 9% | 229% | 149% | — | 0% | 0% | 230% | 1% |
| 2024 | 56% | 53% | 522% | 0% | 135% | 86% | 4% | — | 161% | 7% | 40% | 73% |
| 2025 | 3% | 7% | 109% | 168% | 282% | 0% | 4% | — | 218% | 94% | 151% | 9% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Heavitree Gap
Australia
- 49 mDepth
- 5.1 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 13°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5694973) · 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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