New Zealand Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia · Public domain
The cut
225 metres, to scale.
A slice through Manawatu 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
225m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
17.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
23°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
6.0km
Length
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In February the afternoon reaches 23 °C on the floor, against 20 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from December to March.
- 23°20°Jan
- 23°20°Feb
- 21°18°Mar
- 18°15°Apr
- 15°12°May
- 13°10°Jun
- 12°8°Jul
- 12°9°Aug
- 14°11°Sep
- 16°13°Oct
- 18°15°Nov
- 21°18°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.
Gorge in New Zealand
Manawatu Gorge is a gorge in New Zealand, cut by the Manawatū River. The relief model measures 225 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 465 m to the higher one. It runs for 6.0 km. Rim to rim it is 17 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Ashhurstnearest town · 4.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 350 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
- Palmerston North Airport (PMR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 15 km in a straight lineCar hire at PMR airport (Palmerston North)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From December to Marchbest 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 Manawatū River runs highest from June to October.
The Manawatū River carries about 93 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from June to October.
- 50 m³/sJan
- 44 m³/sFeb
- 47 m³/sMar
- 79 m³/sApr
- 111 m³/sMay
- 152 m³/sJun
- 158 m³/sJul
- 145 m³/sAug
- 125 m³/sSep
- 120 m³/sOct
- 89 m³/sNov
- 80 m³/sDec
From about 44 m³/s in the lowest month to 158 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 3,190 km².
The Manawatū 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.
- 12viewpoints within 5 kmTe Apiti Lookout, Sentinel Lookout, Big Tōtara Tree and 9 more
- 5marked hiking routes within 4 kmManawatū Gorge Track, Manawatū Gorge Loop Track, Upper Gorge Bridge Track and 2 more
- 8footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmManawatū Gorge Track, Te Ahu a Turanga Shared Path, Parahaki Bridge Lookout and 5 more
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 11information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1bus stops within 2 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmAshhurst Domain Campground, Te Waha o Te Kurī / Woodville Ferry Reserve
- 3hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmMasonic Hotel, New Central Motor Inn, Railway Hotel
- 1restaurants 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
- 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
- Ashhurst4.8 km in a straight line
- Woodville6.2 km in a straight line
- Whakarongo11 km in a straight line
- Kelvin Grove13 km in a straight line
- Terrace End15 km in a straight line
- Hokowhitu15 km in a straight line
- Roslyn15 km in a straight line
- Pahiatua15 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Manawatu 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.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas6 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 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 21 |
| Afternoon · rim | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 |
| Night · rim | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 58 | 61 | 63 | 78 | 86 | 99 | 92 | 86 | 82 | 90 | 70 | 82 |
| Rainy days | 10 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 8.5 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 7.6 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 20 | 10 | 58 | 8.5 |
| Feb | 23 | 20 | 10 | 61 | 7.8 |
| Mar | 21 | 18 | 9 | 63 | 6.9 |
| Apr | 18 | 15 | 7 | 78 | 5.5 |
| May | 15 | 12 | 5 | 86 | 4.4 |
| Jun | 13 | 10 | 4 | 99 | 3.4 |
| Jul | 12 | 8 | 3 | 92 | 3.9 |
| Aug | 12 | 9 | 3 | 86 | 4.8 |
| Sep | 14 | 11 | 4 | 82 | 5.6 |
| Oct | 16 | 13 | 5 | 90 | 6.3 |
| Nov | 18 | 15 | 7 | 70 | 7.5 |
| Dec | 21 | 18 | 9 | 82 | 7.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (50 m) and the rim (516 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% | 53% | 91% | 36% | 100% | 125% | 78% | 57% | 149% | 79% | 216% | 107% |
| 2021 | 112% | 71% | 156% | 54% | 74% | 128% | 77% | 129% | 168% | 85% | 117% | 291% |
| 2022 | 36% | 453% | 183% | 33% | 135% | 142% | 223% | 192% | 167% | 105% | 214% | 149% |
| 2023 | 333% | 312% | 121% | 138% | 137% | 57% | 95% | 108% | 141% | 89% | 117% | 100% |
| 2024 | 87% | 65% | 90% | 73% | 95% | 88% | 117% | 180% | 169% | 107% | 110% | 110% |
| 2025 | 117% | 32% | 128% | 132% | 105% | 123% | 143% | 86% | 92% | 135% | 75% | 160% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Manawatu Gorge
New Zealand
- 225 mDepth
- 17 kmRim to rim
- 6.0 kmLength
- 23°Steepest wall
Te Whati Nui A Toi Canyon
New Zealand · 200 km
- 442 mDepth
- 19 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1531411) · 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?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here