New Zealand Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
1,134 metres, to scale.
A slice through Ōtira 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: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 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.
1,134m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
5.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
41°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
402m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
7 °C warmer at the bottom.
In February the afternoon reaches 18 °C on the floor, against 11 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from January to March. The rim freezes at night from June to September.
- 18°11°Jan
- 18°11°Feb
- 17°9°Mar
- 14°6°Apr
- 11°4°May
- 8°1°Jun
- 8°0°Jul
- 9°1°Aug
- 11°3°Sep
- 12°5°Oct
- 15°7°Nov
- 17°10°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 the West Coast of New Zealand
Ōtira Gorge is a gorge in New Zealand, cut by the Rolleston River. The relief model measures 1,134 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 5.6 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Arthur's Pass National Park.
Getting there.
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 4.4 km from the floor
- Hokitika Airfield (HKK)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 50 km in a straight lineCar hire at CHC airport (Christchurch)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From January 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.
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), 12 × 12 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 3viewpoints within 5 kmŌtira Viaduct Lookout at Deaths Corner
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmŌtira Valley Track
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmReid Falls
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 5hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmRata Lodge, Canterbury University Snow Sports Club (CUSSC) Lodge, Ferrier Lodge (Temple Basin Ski Area) and 2 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- campsites within 8 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Ōtira 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.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas43 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures 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 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
| Afternoon · rim | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Night · rim | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | -2 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -3 | -2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 135 | 109 | 123 | 139 | 154 | 153 | 130 | 134 | 131 | 159 | 139 | 160 |
| Rainy days | 15 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 18 |
| Sun hours/day | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 6.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | 11 | 3 | 135 | 7.3 |
| Feb | 18 | 11 | 3 | 109 | 7.3 |
| Mar | 17 | 9 | 2 | 123 | 6.1 |
| Apr | 14 | 6 | 0 | 139 | 4.7 |
| May | 11 | 4 | -2 | 154 | 3.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 1 | -4 | 153 | 3.1 |
| Jul | 8 | 0 | -4 | 130 | 3.6 |
| Aug | 9 | 1 | -4 | 134 | 4.2 |
| Sep | 11 | 3 | -3 | 131 | 4.6 |
| Oct | 12 | 5 | -2 | 159 | 5.3 |
| Nov | 15 | 7 | 0 | 139 | 6.3 |
| Dec | 17 | 10 | 2 | 160 | 6.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (402 m) and the rim (1,541 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 | 57% | 129% | 106% | 114% | 75% | 70% | 109% | 116% | 132% | 127% | 106% | 120% |
| 2021 | 120% | 48% | 144% | 110% | 121% | 114% | 144% | 145% | 136% | 110% | 116% | 142% |
| 2022 | 32% | 283% | 35% | 68% | 140% | 158% | 254% | 188% | 79% | 97% | 151% | 56% |
| 2023 | 89% | 150% | 183% | 157% | 214% | 73% | 116% | 92% | 137% | 90% | 67% | 132% |
| 2024 | 150% | 86% | 76% | 99% | 41% | 87% | 90% | 183% | 158% | 159% | 115% | 134% |
| 2025 | 55% | 66% | 61% | 171% | 107% | 131% | 125% | 67% | 152% | 172% | 90% | 93% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Ōtira Gorge
New Zealand
- 1,134 mDepth
- 5.6 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 41°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q49343048) · 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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