Germany Artem Dontsov · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
91 metres, to scale.
A slice through Dragon 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: 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. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.
91m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
1.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
8°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
231m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 25 °C. The best months to hike are in June and in September. The rim freezes at night from January to February. The wettest months are in July: in a narrow canyon a flash flood arrives without warning, even from rain upstream.
- 2°2°Jan
- 4°3°Feb
- 8°8°Mar
- 14°13°Apr
- 18°18°May
- 22°21°Jun
- 25°24°Jul
- 24°24°Aug
- 20°19°Sep
- 14°13°Oct
- 7°7°Nov
- 3°3°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 near Eisenach
Dragon Gorge is a slot canyon in Germany, cut by the Marienbach river. The relief model measures 91 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 1.7 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Wälder mit Schluchten zwischen Wartburg und Hohe Sonne.
Getting there.
- Eisenachnearest town · 3.9 km in a straight line
- Parking 220 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.1 km from the floor
- Erfurt-Weimar Airport (ERF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 46 km in a straight lineCar hire at PAD airport (Büren)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In June and in 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.
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.
- 52viewpoints within 5 kmMichelskuppe, Marienblick, Michelskuppe Panoramablick and 49 more
- 27marked hiking routes within 4 kmJakobsweg Via Regia 6, Fernwanderweg Eisenacher Haus, Hauptwanderweg Eisenach – Wernigerode (blaues Andreaskreuz) and 24 more
- 3climbing crags within 3 kmSüdöstlicher Hangstein, Nordwestlicher Hangstein, Bärenfalle
- 40footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 5caves within 3 km
- 43car parks within 3 km
- 96information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 6bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmAuszeit Lindigshof, Camping im Garten, Campingpark Eisenach and 6 more
- 98hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHaus Hainstein, Lutherhotel Eisenacher Hof, LOGOTEL and 95 more
- 77restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 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
- Eisenach3.9 km in a straight line
- Thal6.7 km in a straight line
- Ruhla7.1 km in a straight line
- Marksuhl8.2 km in a straight line
- Krauthausen8.4 km in a straight line
- Lauchröden12 km in a straight line
- Herleshausen12 km in a straight line
- Creuzburg13 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Dragon 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.
Riveryas3 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas156 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 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 7 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 13 | 7 | 3 |
| Night · rim | -4 | -3 | -1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 48 | 52 | 40 | 76 | 65 | 82 | 68 | 58 | 56 | 63 | 68 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.2 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 15 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 2 | -4 | 67 | 1.2 |
| Feb | 4 | 3 | -3 | 48 | 2.4 |
| Mar | 8 | 8 | -1 | 52 | 4.0 |
| Apr | 14 | 13 | 3 | 40 | 6.2 |
| May | 18 | 18 | 7 | 76 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 22 | 21 | 11 | 65 | 7.1 |
| Jul | 25 | 24 | 13 | 82 | 6.7 |
| Aug | 24 | 24 | 13 | 68 | 6.0 |
| Sep | 20 | 19 | 8 | 58 | 5.0 |
| Oct | 14 | 13 | 4 | 56 | 3.0 |
| Nov | 7 | 7 | 1 | 63 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 3 | 3 | -2 | 68 | 0.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (231 m) and the rim (332 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 | 56% | 194% | 90% | 25% | 64% | 147% | 46% | 123% | 62% | 126% | 30% | 77% |
| 2021 | 112% | 130% | 73% | 113% | 116% | 110% | 135% | 170% | 51% | 68% | 77% | 71% |
| 2022 | 90% | 140% | 28% | 149% | 63% | 39% | 48% | 45% | 172% | 93% | 70% | 81% |
| 2023 | 104% | 100% | 187% | 157% | 50% | 83% | 95% | 212% | 54% | 161% | 170% | 169% |
| 2024 | 106% | 185% | 102% | 169% | 160% | 134% | 106% | 114% | 140% | 134% | 99% | 86% |
| 2025 | 131% | 59% | 31% | 102% | 66% | 80% | 109% | 93% | 112% | 151% | 58% | 40% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Dragon Gorge
Germany
- 91 mDepth
- 1.7 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 8°Steepest wall
Tretstein waterfall
Germany · 104 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 (Q1254322) · 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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