Germany Jörg Braukmann · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
157 metres, to scale.
A slice through Porta Westfalica 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.
157m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
1.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
26°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0.5km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C. The best months to hike are from May to June and from August to September. The rim freezes at night from January to February.
- 4°3°Jan
- 5°4°Feb
- 9°8°Mar
- 15°14°Apr
- 19°18°May
- 22°21°Jun
- 24°23°Jul
- 24°23°Aug
- 20°19°Sep
- 15°13°Oct
- 9°8°Nov
- 5°4°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 Minden-Lübbecke District, Germany
Porta Westfalica is a canyon in Germany, cut by the Weser river. The relief model measures 157 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 0.5 km. Rim to rim it is 1.6 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Porta Westfalicanearest town · 1.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 120 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Portakanzelnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
- Hannover Airport (HAJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 57 km in a straight lineCar hire at HAJ airport (Hannover)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May to June and from August to 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.
The river
The Weser runs highest from November to April.
The Weser carries about 190 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to April.
- 389 m³/sJan
- 346 m³/sFeb
- 350 m³/sMar
- 227 m³/sApr
- 173 m³/sMay
- 82 m³/sJun
- 87 m³/sJul
- 87 m³/sAug
- 79 m³/sSep
- 114 m³/sOct
- 211 m³/sNov
- 302 m³/sDec
From about 79 m³/s in the lowest month to 389 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 19,067 km².
Follow the Weser 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.
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.
- 19viewpoints within 5 kmPortakanzel, Silberblick, Moltketurm and 16 more
- 23marked hiking routes within 4 kmX2 Burgensteig, Sigwardsweg, Weserweg and 20 more
- 23footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmWeserbrücke Porta Westfalica, Friedenstraße and 21 more
- 6rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmKSC Porta and 5 more
- 2caves within 3 km
- 248car parks within 3 km
- 58information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 86bus stops within 2 km
- 13campsites within 8 kmKSC Porta, Wohnmobilstellplatz Porta-Bad, CampingPark Kalletal and 10 more
- 56hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLindgart Hotel, Ratsklause, Hotel Restaurant WeserSchiffchen and 53 more
- 29restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 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
- Porta Westfalica1.6 km in a straight line
- Minden5.1 km in a straight line
- Bad Oeynhausen8.9 km in a straight line
- Bückeburg9.0 km in a straight line
- Vlotho9.6 km in a straight line
- Heeßen12 km in a straight line
- Bad Eilsen12 km in a straight line
- Rinteln13 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Porta Westfalica.
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.
Peakyas39 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas3 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 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| Afternoon · rim | 3 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 4 |
| Night · rim | -2 | -2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 2 | -1 |
| Rain (mm) | 80 | 58 | 56 | 44 | 66 | 69 | 78 | 74 | 59 | 63 | 70 | 78 |
| Rainy days | 15 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 6.1 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 12 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 3 | -2 | 80 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 5 | 4 | -2 | 58 | 2.2 |
| Mar | 9 | 8 | 0 | 56 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 15 | 14 | 3 | 44 | 6.1 |
| May | 19 | 18 | 7 | 66 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 22 | 21 | 11 | 69 | 6.7 |
| Jul | 24 | 23 | 13 | 78 | 6.6 |
| Aug | 24 | 23 | 13 | 74 | 5.9 |
| Sep | 20 | 19 | 9 | 59 | 5.0 |
| Oct | 15 | 13 | 5 | 63 | 3.0 |
| Nov | 9 | 8 | 2 | 70 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 5 | 4 | -1 | 78 | 0.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (38 m) and the rim (217 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 | 53% | 238% | 113% | 41% | 48% | 193% | 77% | 86% | 88% | 126% | 43% | 90% |
| 2021 | 105% | 115% | 101% | 106% | 145% | 101% | 129% | 135% | 63% | 69% | 55% | 90% |
| 2022 | 77% | 189% | 25% | 152% | 60% | 60% | 69% | 49% | 140% | 74% | 74% | 118% |
| 2023 | 123% | 97% | 195% | 120% | 79% | 97% | 146% | 156% | 92% | 210% | 193% | 236% |
| 2024 | 101% | 204% | 127% | 242% | 141% | 143% | 183% | 112% | 145% | 154% | 128% | 84% |
| 2025 | 130% | 40% | 20% | 86% | 64% | 107% | 104% | 43% | 79% | 155% | 84% | 47% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Porta Westfalica
Germany
- 157 mDepth
- 1.6 kmRim to rim
- 0.5 kmLength
- 26°Steepest wall
Tretstein waterfall
Germany · 244 km
- 223 mDepth
- 4.9 kmRim to rim
- 0.3 kmLength
- 20°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q451010) · 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
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