Australia EurovisionNim · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
402 metres, to scale.
A slice through Cataract 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: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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.
402m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
16.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
18°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In January the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 23 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from February to April and from November to December. The wettest months are in August.
- 26°23°Jan
- 25°22°Feb
- 23°20°Mar
- 18°16°Apr
- 15°12°May
- 12°10°Jun
- 12°9°Jul
- 13°10°Aug
- 15°12°Sep
- 17°14°Oct
- 20°18°Nov
- 23°20°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 Tasmania, Australia
Cataract Gorge is a gorge in Australia, cut by the South Esk River. The relief model measures 402 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 17 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- West Launcestonnearest town · 1.1 km in a straight line
- Parking 310 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
- Launceston Airport (LST)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 13 km in a straight lineCar hire at LST airport (Launceston)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From February to April and from November to Decemberbest 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 South Esk River runs highest from July to October.
The South Esk River carries about 85 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from July to October.
- 47 m³/sJan
- 32 m³/sFeb
- 38 m³/sMar
- 54 m³/sApr
- 82 m³/sMay
- 114 m³/sJun
- 137 m³/sJul
- 161 m³/sAug
- 154 m³/sSep
- 124 m³/sOct
- 87 m³/sNov
- 62 m³/sDec
From about 32 m³/s in the lowest month to 161 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 9,114 km².
The South Esk 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.
- 16viewpoints within 5 kmFreelands Lookout, Gorge Lookout, Trevallyn Dam Lookout and 13 more
- 43footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmAlexandra Suspension Bridge, Basin Walk and 41 more
- 7rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmPark Street Boat Ramp, Tailrace Ramp and 5 more
- 260car parks within 3 km
- 14information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 106bus stops within 2 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmLaunceston Holiday Park, BIG4 Launceston Holiday Park, Discovery Holiday Parks – Hadspen and 1 more
- 37hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmPeppers, Rutherglen Holiday Village, Tamar River Villas and 34 more
- 147restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 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
- West Launceston1.1 km in a straight line
- Trevallyn1.3 km in a straight line
- Launceston1.5 km in a straight line
- Launceston city centre2.1 km in a straight line
- South Launceston2.4 km in a straight line
- Summerhill2.5 km in a straight line
- East Launceston2.8 km in a straight line
- Invermay3.1 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Cataract 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
Peakyas29 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 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 |
| Afternoon · rim | 23 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 20 |
| Night · rim | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 53 | 39 | 63 | 64 | 74 | 89 | 90 | 107 | 87 | 66 | 65 | 63 |
| Rainy days | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Sun hours/day | 9.8 | 8.7 | 7.3 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 9.1 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 23 | 9 | 53 | 9.8 |
| Feb | 25 | 22 | 9 | 39 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 23 | 20 | 8 | 63 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 18 | 16 | 5 | 64 | 5.7 |
| May | 15 | 12 | 3 | 74 | 4.3 |
| Jun | 12 | 10 | 2 | 89 | 3.7 |
| Jul | 12 | 9 | 1 | 90 | 3.8 |
| Aug | 13 | 10 | 1 | 107 | 4.7 |
| Sep | 15 | 12 | 2 | 87 | 6.0 |
| Oct | 17 | 14 | 4 | 66 | 7.8 |
| Nov | 20 | 18 | 6 | 65 | 8.5 |
| Dec | 23 | 20 | 8 | 63 | 9.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (0 m) and the rim (423 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 | 85% | 176% | 282% | 249% | 44% | 80% | 22% | 64% | 47% | 181% | 69% | 130% |
| 2021 | 107% | 182% | 100% | 39% | 51% | 100% | 90% | 52% | 64% | 223% | 78% | 29% |
| 2022 | 132% | 97% | 66% | 93% | 93% | 56% | 30% | 63% | 64% | 247% | 154% | 85% |
| 2023 | 51% | 105% | 94% | 59% | 59% | 83% | 48% | 28% | 33% | 86% | 54% | 102% |
| 2024 | 120% | 27% | 24% | 75% | 52% | 58% | 81% | 73% | 78% | 84% | 126% | 105% |
| 2025 | 46% | 50% | 44% | 41% | 36% | 62% | 65% | 38% | 74% | 137% | 117% | 49% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5051464) · 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.
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islands
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Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here