New Zealand Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
The cut
624 metres, to scale.
A slice through Rangitata 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 · Empire State · 443 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.
624m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
19.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
29°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
360m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In February the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 17 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from December to March. The rim freezes at night from June to September.
- 22°16°Jan
- 22°17°Feb
- 20°14°Mar
- 16°10°Apr
- 12°6°May
- 9°3°Jun
- 8°2°Jul
- 10°4°Aug
- 12°7°Sep
- 14°9°Oct
- 17°12°Nov
- 20°14°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
Rangitata Gorge is a canyon in New Zealand, cut by the Rangitata River. The relief model measures 624 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 847 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 19 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Parking 380 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Timaru Airport (TIU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 62 km in a straight lineCar hire at CHC airport (Christchurch)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 Rangitata River runs highest from April to December.
The Rangitata River carries about 72 m³/s on average here.
- 72 m³/sJan
- 43 m³/sFeb
- 41 m³/sMar
- 78 m³/sApr
- 109 m³/sMay
- 110 m³/sJun
- 104 m³/sJul
- 124 m³/sAug
- 117 m³/sSep
- 128 m³/sOct
- 110 m³/sNov
- 102 m³/sDec
From about 41 m³/s in the lowest month to 128 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,494 km².
The Rangitata 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.
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmTA08e Two Thumbs
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmRangitata Rafts
- viewpoints within 5 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- campsites within 8 km
- restaurants and cafés 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Rangitata 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.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas12 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 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 20 |
| Afternoon · rim | 16 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 14 |
| Night · rim | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | -1 | -3 | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 1 | 4 |
| Rain (mm) | 87 | 74 | 78 | 93 | 98 | 97 | 86 | 86 | 76 | 100 | 90 | 101 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 16 |
| Sun hours/day | 8.5 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 6.0 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 8.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 16 | 5 | 87 | 8.5 |
| Feb | 22 | 17 | 5 | 74 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 20 | 14 | 3 | 78 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 16 | 10 | 1 | 93 | 6.0 |
| May | 12 | 6 | -1 | 98 | 4.6 |
| Jun | 9 | 3 | -3 | 97 | 3.9 |
| Jul | 8 | 2 | -4 | 86 | 4.4 |
| Aug | 10 | 4 | -3 | 86 | 5.2 |
| Sep | 12 | 7 | -2 | 76 | 6.5 |
| Oct | 14 | 9 | -1 | 100 | 7.4 |
| Nov | 17 | 12 | 1 | 90 | 8.1 |
| Dec | 20 | 14 | 4 | 101 | 8.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (360 m) and the rim (1,206 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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 | 46% | 112% | 112% | 89% | 68% | 98% | 100% | 94% | 127% | 118% | 111% | 116% |
| 2021 | 121% | 47% | 114% | 90% | 159% | 106% | 116% | 135% | 128% | 105% | 111% | 170% |
| 2022 | 45% | 283% | 46% | 55% | 121% | 135% | 328% | 161% | 87% | 95% | 162% | 79% |
| 2023 | 86% | 157% | 196% | 139% | 186% | 77% | 158% | 86% | 149% | 87% | 73% | 113% |
| 2024 | 130% | 81% | 70% | 83% | 50% | 92% | 95% | 164% | 152% | 169% | 92% | 145% |
| 2025 | 88% | 60% | 88% | 180% | 111% | 134% | 98% | 69% | 131% | 148% | 83% | 104% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Rangitata Gorge
New Zealand
- 624 mDepth
- 19 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 29°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q49343179) · 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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