Tanzania Mike Krüger · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
236 metres, to scale.
A slice through Olduvai 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
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.
236m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
24.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
13°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,386m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
2 °C warmer at the bottom.
In October the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to August. The wettest months are from March to April and from November to January.
- 27°24°Jan
- 27°25°Feb
- 27°24°Mar
- 26°23°Apr
- 24°22°May
- 24°22°Jun
- 25°22°Jul
- 26°24°Aug
- 28°26°Sep
- 29°26°Oct
- 27°25°Nov
- 26°24°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.
Archaeological site in Tanzania
Olduvai Gorge is a gorge in Tanzania, cut by the Oldupai River. The relief model measures 236 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 355 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 24 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Parking 2,900 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Olduvai Gorgenearest viewpoint · 2.9 km from the floor
- Arusha Airport (ARK)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 149 km in a straight lineCar hire at JRO airport (Arusha)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Augustbest 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 Oldupai River runs highest in April and from December to January.
The Oldupai River carries about 3.8 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in April and from December to January. It is lowest from July to October.
- 9.9 m³/sJan
- 7.5 m³/sFeb
- 9.0 m³/sMar
- 12 m³/sApr
- 8.7 m³/sMay
- 3.7 m³/sJun
- 1.2 m³/sJul
- 0.7 m³/sAug
- 0.8 m³/sSep
- 2.9 m³/sOct
- 8.3 m³/sNov
- 10 m³/sDec
From about 0.73 m³/s in the lowest month to 12 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 2,442 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
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.
- 1viewpoints within 5 kmOlduvai Gorge
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmOlduvai Camp
- 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 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).
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 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 26 |
| Afternoon · rim | 24 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 |
| Night · rim | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
| Rain (mm) | 143 | 101 | 153 | 190 | 95 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 79 | 167 | 151 |
| Rainy days | 15 | 13 | 16 | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 20 |
| Sun hours/day | 8.7 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 24 | 14 | 143 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 27 | 25 | 14 | 101 | 9.2 |
| Mar | 27 | 24 | 15 | 153 | 8.8 |
| Apr | 26 | 23 | 14 | 190 | 8.2 |
| May | 24 | 22 | 13 | 95 | 8.4 |
| Jun | 24 | 22 | 12 | 18 | 8.3 |
| Jul | 25 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 8.7 |
| Aug | 26 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 8.7 |
| Sep | 28 | 26 | 12 | 19 | 8.9 |
| Oct | 29 | 26 | 14 | 79 | 9.0 |
| Nov | 27 | 25 | 15 | 167 | 8.4 |
| Dec | 26 | 24 | 14 | 151 | 8.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,386 m) and the rim (1,740 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 | 260% | 178% | 283% | 222% | 78% | 303% | 148% | 58% | 265% | 55% | 404% | 104% |
| 2021 | 180% | 241% | 141% | 159% | 137% | 15% | 148% | 49% | 76% | 47% | 33% | 513% |
| 2022 | 128% | 258% | 68% | 59% | 47% | 297% | 5,784% | 1,247% | 513% | 7% | 50% | 139% |
| 2023 | 87% | 100% | 113% | 149% | 136% | 402% | 74% | 5,539% | 154% | 171% | 468% | 95% |
| 2024 | 330% | 226% | 91% | 200% | 116% | 147% | 502% | 31% | 44% | 24% | 125% | 144% |
| 2025 | 97% | 63% | 150% | 165% | 176% | 142% | 12,610% | 342% | 24% | 54% | 24% | 183% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q217043) · 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 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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