Austria Isiwal · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
136 metres, to scale.
A slice through Erlaufschlucht 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
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.
136m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
11.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
14°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
278m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
2 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 23 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are from May to August.
- 3°1°Jan
- 5°2°Feb
- 10°7°Mar
- 16°13°Apr
- 20°17°May
- 24°21°Jun
- 26°23°Jul
- 25°23°Aug
- 20°18°Sep
- 16°13°Oct
- 10°7°Nov
- 4°2°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.
Canyon of river Erlauf in Lower Austria
Erlaufschlucht is a canyon in Austria, cut by the Erlauf river. The relief model measures 136 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 386 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Purgstallnearest town · 0.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,480 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Aussichtsplattform 3nearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
- Linz-Hörsching Airport (LNZ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 73 km in a straight lineCar hire at LNZ airport (Linz)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May 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.
The river
The Erlauf runs highest in March and from May to September.
The Erlauf carries about 7.8 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in March and from May to September.
- 7.9 m³/sJan
- 9.1 m³/sFeb
- 12 m³/sMar
- 9.9 m³/sApr
- 14 m³/sMay
- 15 m³/sJun
- 15 m³/sJul
- 15 m³/sAug
- 14 m³/sSep
- 9.7 m³/sOct
- 5.4 m³/sNov
- 3.6 m³/sDec
From about 3.6 m³/s in the lowest month to 15 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 346 km².
The Erlauf 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.
- 10viewpoints within 5 kmWaschplatz, einsamer Baum, Aussichtsplattform 1 and 7 more
- 10marked hiking routes within 4 kmWeg des Friedens, Fischersteig, Lehrpfad Wald- und Flurgehölze and 7 more
- 10footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmÖtscherlandsteg, Praterrohrsteg, Pratersteg and 7 more
- 145caves within 3 km
- 56car parks within 3 km
- 39information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 10bus stops within 2 km
- 1campsites within 8 kmAktiv Camp Purgstall
- 17hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGästehaus Veronika, Gesundheits- u. Erholungspension Schager, Scheibbsbachhof and 14 more
- 12restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 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
- Purgstall0.5 km in a straight line
- Wolfpassing5.8 km in a straight line
- Scheibbs6.1 km in a straight line
- Steinakirchen am Forst6.6 km in a straight line
- Oberndorf an der Melk6.8 km in a straight line
- Sankt Georgen an der Leys7.4 km in a straight line
- Wang8.0 km in a straight line
- Wieselburg8.8 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Erlaufschlucht.
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
Peakyas13 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 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 4 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 3 | -1 | -5 |
| Rain (mm) | 79 | 63 | 72 | 56 | 118 | 134 | 131 | 132 | 106 | 74 | 60 | 66 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.9 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 5.2 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 18 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 16 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 1 | -6 | 79 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 5 | 2 | -6 | 63 | 3.6 |
| Mar | 10 | 7 | -2 | 72 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 16 | 13 | 2 | 56 | 6.5 |
| May | 20 | 17 | 7 | 118 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 24 | 21 | 11 | 134 | 7.1 |
| Jul | 26 | 23 | 13 | 131 | 7.3 |
| Aug | 25 | 23 | 12 | 132 | 6.9 |
| Sep | 20 | 18 | 8 | 106 | 5.2 |
| Oct | 16 | 13 | 3 | 74 | 3.6 |
| Nov | 10 | 7 | -1 | 60 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 4 | 2 | -5 | 66 | 1.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (278 m) and the rim (664 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 | 46% | 185% | 67% | 42% | 113% | 143% | 110% | 146% | 149% | 167% | 33% | 79% |
| 2021 | 110% | 53% | 64% | 90% | 99% | 52% | 119% | 148% | 47% | 53% | 114% | 137% |
| 2022 | 84% | 108% | 26% | 161% | 78% | 105% | 101% | 105% | 114% | 73% | 114% | 77% |
| 2023 | 69% | 133% | 67% | 274% | 74% | 72% | 85% | 123% | 44% | 78% | 261% | 242% |
| 2024 | 89% | 88% | 72% | 132% | 93% | 100% | 99% | 68% | 310% | 80% | 39% | 84% |
| 2025 | 38% | 26% | 127% | 97% | 89% | 74% | 158% | 70% | 96% | 116% | 105% | 31% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Erlaufschlucht
Austria
- 136 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 14°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q21879070) · 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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