Australia Gorge World Heritage
Maguk
115 m of rock, cut by the Barramundie Creek.
Joshua Tagicakibau · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
115 metres, to scale.
A slice through Maguk 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.
115m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
2.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
11°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
55m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In October the afternoon reaches 40 °C. The floor passes 35 °C from September to November: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are from December to March.
- 31°30°Jan
- 31°30°Feb
- 31°30°Mar
- 32°31°Apr
- 32°31°May
- 32°31°Jun
- 33°32°Jul
- 35°34°Aug
- 38°37°Sep
- 40°39°Oct
- 38°38°Nov
- 34°34°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 Kakadu, West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
Maguk is a gorge in Australia, cut by the Barramundie Creek. The relief model measures 115 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 2.4 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Kakadu National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there.
- Darwin International Airport / RAAF Darwin (DRW)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 198 km in a straight lineCar hire at DRW airport (Darwin)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
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 Barramundie Creek runs highest from January to March.
The Barramundie Creek carries about 1.8 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to March. It is lowest from May to November.
- 4.6 m³/sJan
- 5.1 m³/sFeb
- 4.2 m³/sMar
- 2.1 m³/sApr
- 0.8 m³/sMay
- 0.3 m³/sJun
- 0.3 m³/sJul
- 0.3 m³/sAug
- 0.3 m³/sSep
- 0.4 m³/sOct
- 1.0 m³/sNov
- 3.0 m³/sDec
From about 0.28 m³/s in the lowest month to 5.1 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 116 km².
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.
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmMaguk Waterfall
- 1campsites within 8 kmMaguk Campground
- viewpoints within 5 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 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
- caves within 3 km
- car parks within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- hotels and guesthouses 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 Maguk.
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.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing 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 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 35 | 38 | 40 | 38 | 34 |
| Afternoon · rim | 30 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 34 | 37 | 39 | 38 | 34 |
| Night · rim | 24 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 24 |
| Rain (mm) | 283 | 266 | 208 | 61 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 36 | 110 | 250 |
| Rainy days | 27 | 24 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 25 |
| Sun hours/day | 6.7 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 9.9 | 10.3 | 10.8 | 10.7 | 10.2 | 9.1 | 7.9 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 30 | 24 | 283 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 31 | 30 | 23 | 266 | 7.0 |
| Mar | 31 | 30 | 23 | 208 | 7.9 |
| Apr | 32 | 31 | 21 | 61 | 9.2 |
| May | 32 | 31 | 19 | 12 | 9.5 |
| Jun | 32 | 31 | 16 | 1 | 9.9 |
| Jul | 33 | 32 | 16 | 1 | 10.3 |
| Aug | 35 | 34 | 17 | 2 | 10.8 |
| Sep | 38 | 37 | 21 | 8 | 10.7 |
| Oct | 40 | 39 | 24 | 36 | 10.2 |
| Nov | 38 | 38 | 25 | 110 | 9.1 |
| Dec | 34 | 34 | 24 | 250 | 7.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (55 m) and the rim (182 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 | 69% | 73% | 46% | 106% | 31% | — | — | — | 104% | 121% | 46% | 124% |
| 2021 | 100% | 154% | 105% | 41% | 0% | — | — | — | 19% | 138% | 68% | 101% |
| 2022 | 73% | 71% | 33% | 95% | 3% | — | — | — | 396% | 178% | 148% | 92% |
| 2023 | 64% | 111% | 44% | 78% | 0% | — | — | — | 0% | 9% | 52% | 91% |
| 2024 | 150% | 65% | 156% | 29% | 3% | — | — | — | 270% | 123% | 83% | 84% |
| 2025 | 96% | 103% | 157% | 104% | 268% | — | — | — | 244% | 164% | 142% | 85% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Maguk
Australia
- 115 mDepth
- 2.4 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 11°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q136720493) · 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.
beaches
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lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here