New Zealand Canyon
Te Whati Nui A Toi Canyon
442 m of rock, cut by the Whirinaki River.
Graeme Churchard · CC BY 2.0
The cut
442 metres, to scale.
A slice through Te Whati Nui A Toi Canyon 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.
442m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
19.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
28°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
346m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In January the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from February to March and from November to December. The wettest months are in July.
- 24°22°Jan
- 24°21°Feb
- 21°18°Mar
- 18°15°Apr
- 14°11°May
- 12°9°Jun
- 10°7°Jul
- 12°9°Aug
- 14°11°Sep
- 16°13°Oct
- 18°16°Nov
- 22°19°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 in New Zealand
Te Whati Nui A Toi Canyon is a canyon in New Zealand, cut by the Whirinaki River. The relief model measures 442 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 19 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park.
Getting there.
- Muruparanearest town · 24 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,510 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Taupo Airport (TUO)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 54 km in a straight lineCar hire at ROT airport (Rotorua)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From February to March 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 Whirinaki River runs highest from June to August.
The Whirinaki River carries about 4.1 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from June to August.
- 3.2 m³/sJan
- 3.1 m³/sFeb
- 3.4 m³/sMar
- 4.0 m³/sApr
- 4.4 m³/sMay
- 5.1 m³/sJun
- 5.6 m³/sJul
- 5.1 m³/sAug
- 4.5 m³/sSep
- 4.0 m³/sOct
- 3.3 m³/sNov
- 3.4 m³/sDec
From about 3.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 5.6 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 139 km².
The Whirinaki 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.
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmSanctuary Loop Walk
- 5footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmWhirinaki Waterfall Loop Track, Waiatiu Falls Track, Arahaki Lagoon Track and 2 more
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmMangamate campsite, Sanctuary Campsite, Verns Camp
- viewpoints within 5 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
- caves 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).
Towns nearby
- Murupara24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Te Whati Nui A Toi Canyon.
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.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas4 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas49 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 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 22 |
| Afternoon · rim | 22 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 |
| Night · rim | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 69 | 62 | 76 | 86 | 86 | 104 | 110 | 88 | 78 | 78 | 55 | 77 |
| Rainy days | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 8.4 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.3 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 22 | 10 | 69 | 8.4 |
| Feb | 24 | 21 | 10 | 62 | 7.4 |
| Mar | 21 | 18 | 8 | 76 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 18 | 15 | 6 | 86 | 5.6 |
| May | 14 | 11 | 4 | 86 | 4.6 |
| Jun | 12 | 9 | 3 | 104 | 3.9 |
| Jul | 10 | 7 | 2 | 110 | 4.3 |
| Aug | 12 | 9 | 2 | 88 | 4.8 |
| Sep | 14 | 11 | 3 | 78 | 5.4 |
| Oct | 16 | 13 | 4 | 78 | 6.4 |
| Nov | 18 | 16 | 6 | 55 | 7.4 |
| Dec | 22 | 19 | 9 | 77 | 7.3 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (346 m) and the rim (791 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 | 40% | 32% | 89% | 36% | 70% | 220% | 105% | 80% | 60% | 106% | 222% | 47% |
| 2021 | 50% | 93% | 87% | 67% | 119% | 108% | 65% | 84% | 145% | 94% | 323% | 151% |
| 2022 | 55% | 293% | 297% | 80% | 101% | 130% | 140% | 138% | 260% | 115% | 258% | 147% |
| 2023 | 310% | 419% | 77% | 91% | 174% | 214% | 99% | 50% | 235% | 93% | 289% | 116% |
| 2024 | 139% | 51% | 59% | 54% | 141% | 199% | 104% | 101% | 52% | 91% | 72% | 215% |
| 2025 | 104% | 68% | 134% | 144% | 96% | 105% | 143% | 92% | 95% | 111% | 147% | 168% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Te Whati Nui A Toi Canyon
New Zealand
- 442 mDepth
- 19 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Manawatu Gorge
New Zealand · 200 km
- 225 mDepth
- 17 kmRim to rim
- 6.0 kmLength
- 23°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q49343481) · 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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