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MatherGorgeClimbers3

United States United States Canyon

Mather Gorge

70 m of rock, cut by the Potomac River.

See the cutWhen to go

Carl Lindberg · CC BY-SA 3.0

The cut

70 metres, to scale.

A slice through Mather 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.

92 m88 m70 m2.0 km rim to rim500 mvertical scale × 3.092 m88 m70 m2.0 km rim to rim500 mvertical scale × 3.0

Standing on the floor, to scale: Tower of Pisa · 56 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.

70m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

2.0km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

14°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

18m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

Afternoons, up top and down below.

In July the afternoon reaches 32 °C. The best months to hike are in April and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to February.

rim · 92 mfloor · 18 m
  1. 5°4°Jan
  2. 6°6°Feb
  3. 12°12°Mar
  4. 19°18°Apr
  5. 24°24°May
  6. 29°28°Jun
  7. 32°32°Jul
  8. 31°31°Aug
  9. 28°27°Sep
  10. 20°20°Oct
  11. 13°13°Nov
  12. 7°6°Dec
Hike: Apr, OctFrost on the rim: Dec–Feb

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 of the Potomac River southeast and downriver of Great Falls

Mather Gorge is a canyon in United States, cut by the Potomac River. The relief model measures 70 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 2.0 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Potomacnearest town · 5.0 km in a straight line
  • Parking 590 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Scott's Run Fallsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
  • Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 19 km in a straight lineCar hire at IAD airport (Dulles)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • In April and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at DCA airport (Washington)Discover CarsSee prices 

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 Potomac River runs highest from March to July and from October to November.

The Potomac River carries about 356 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to July and from October to November.

  1. 188 m³/sJan
  2. 212 m³/sFeb
  3. 548 m³/sMar
  4. 813 m³/sApr
  5. 956 m³/sMay
  6. 733 m³/sJun
  7. 458 m³/sJul
  8. 156 m³/sAug
  9. 240 m³/sSep
  10. 434 m³/sOct
  11. 503 m³/sNov
  12. 396 m³/sDec

From about 156 m³/s in the lowest month to 956 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 29,882 km².

Follow the Rappahannock River from source to mouth on Riveryas

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.

Mather Gorge seen from above (Sentinel-2) 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.

  • 13viewpoints within 5 kmScott's Run Falls, Great Falls Overlook, Overlook 1 and 10 more
  • 18marked hiking routes within 4 kmPotomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (right bank), ADT - Maryland - Seg 4, Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail and 15 more
  • 27footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmGreat Falls Overlook Trail, Billy Goat Trail Section A and 25 more
  • 2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmSandy Landing
  • 3named waterfalls within 4 kmStubblefield Falls, Great Falls, Scott's Run Falls
  • 35car parks within 3 km
  • 13information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 9campsites within 8 kmCamp Fraser, Marsden Tract Group Campsite, Lake Fairfax Family Campground and 6 more
  • 20hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCrowne Plaza, WhyHotel, The Watermark Hotel and 17 more
  • 4restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • caves within 3 km
  • bus stops within 2 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

  • Potomac5.0 km in a straight line
  • Great Falls5.0 km in a straight line
  • Wolf Trap6.1 km in a straight line
  • Tysons6.7 km in a straight line
  • Cabin John6.8 km in a straight line
  • McLean7.1 km in a straight line
  • Pimmit Hills7.9 km in a straight line
  • Vienna9.0 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Mather 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.

Riveryas9 rivers in the canyon
Rappahannock River296 km · 47 m³/sPatuxent River185 kmRock CreekDifficult RunSpout RunCameron RunDonaldson RunPimmit Run
Peakyas19 mountains within 15 km
Minor's Hill · 8.4 kmTinner Hill · 10 kmPoint Reno125 m · 11 kmUpton's Hill · 12 kmMount Alto · 12 kmMount Saint Alban116 m · 12 kmCamp Hill · 13 kmCrabapple Hill · 14 km

Figures 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor561219242932312820137
Afternoon · rim461218242832312720136
Night · rim-5-406121720191582-2
Rain (mm)6567819412011610895108997787
Rainy days9810101414151311889
Sun hours/day3.94.95.46.56.88.18.27.46.45.34.63.6
Snow on the ground (cm)131361000000210
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan54-5653.9
Feb66-4674.9
Mar12120815.4
Apr19186946.5
May2424121206.8
Jun2928171168.1
Jul3232201088.2
Aug313119957.4
Sep2827151086.4
Oct20208995.3
Nov13132774.6
Dec76-2873.6

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (18 m) and the rim (92 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

MatherGorge2
Carl Lindberg · CC BY-SA 3.0
2019-09-07 13 34 09 View northwest up the Mather Gorge of the Potomac River from a point about 1.15 miles below Great Falls within Great Falls Park in Great Falls, Fairfax County, Virginia
Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-07 13 38 06 View northwest up the Mather Gorge of the Potomac River from a point about 1.13 miles below Great Falls within Great Falls Park in Great Falls, Fairfax County, Virginia
Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020119%100%73%140%45%77%82%191%72%139%154%131%
202169%144%78%59%60%81%58%138%125%79%28%18%
2022100%68%67%65%112%60%90%82%73%64%94%110%
202354%77%54%85%27%60%86%59%117%32%79%160%
2024233%81%136%72%79%38%63%166%86%9%51%83%
202563%96%57%64%171%109%123%26%55%56%36%42%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Mather Gorge

United States

  • 70 mDepth
  • 2.0 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 14°Steepest wall

Cumberland Narrows

United States · 154 km

  • 360 mDepth
  • 12 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 28°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q6786935) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here